Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

From the Walls

The air was filled with an acrid yellow steam, and not for the first time in so many minutes, Yebb was glad that she couldn't smell anything through her helmet. Even if this place was ever free of the void and its incubus children, she doubted the smell would leave for some years. She imagined that it would become trapped in the ice only to appear again whenever the tunnels grew hot enough to cause a melt. Up ahead Adam took his first step onto the sizzling, bubbling carpet of red. The sound that his foot made as it squelched down, and the wet pop it made as he withdrew his foot made Yebb lightheaded.

She closed her eyes again trying to block out the sound as the rest of the SE soldiers followed their leader leaving a trail of pulverized wet sludge behind them. lining the wall, the glistening wet remains of the Incubus boils fizzled and hissed sliding down the walls as the connective tissue was burned away by krill's concoction.

It was really an impressive thing he managed to make and Yebb was reminded of just how smart the little Vrul was.

She almost wished she were as smart, krill considered this contribution and had no desire to follow them into the tunnels.

Adam continued to sweep the nozzle of his hose back and forth slowly over the floor before him, unwilling to miss anything on their way in. A group of marines kept watch at the back, walking backward over the flesh slush as they went deeper into the tunnel.

"Change up ahead." Adam Said

The group turned to nervously peer into the darkness unable to see past the first few rows in front of them.

Yebb leaned up craning her neck over the top of Jackie's head to see if she could spot what Adam was talking about. Just past Sunny's head, she thought she could see the point at which the walls and the floors changed. The sticky wet walls of the tunnel died off to be replaced by a thick meaty wall. As Adam passed his flashlight over it, yebb thought she could see the glistening lines of white connective tissue running over the expanse of red meat.

"This is horrifying." Adam said, somehow managing not to sound particularly horrified.

"What is that?"

"Looks like muscle maybe." He prodded the wall with the tip of his gun, and immediately stepped back as the entire wall flexed and contracted. Even from here she could see the bunching and contracting of muscle tissue as it shied away from Adam's touch.

Adam took a step back, "That is horrifying!" This time he actually sounded like someone who was horrified.

The walls continued to churn, and Yebb could feel a slow vibration rise up through the SE soldier and into her own armor.

"Ok, Am I the only one here who doesn't want to die in the sphincter of doom." Ramirez said as helpful as always.

Adam turned his head back to his friend, "The WHAT!"

"You heard me, look it's a long muscular tunnel that contracts, don't tell me the rest of you weren't thinking it."

Sunny sighed, "Oh great, void Anus, thank you so much for that image Ramirez."

The ex-marine crossed his arms, "hey we were all thinking it, I am just the one who said it."

"Technically." Adam began, "This isn't a sphincter, If it was it would open and close towards the middle not roll along the wall like that. What we are looking at more resembles peristalsis."

There was silence from the line behind him, "Oh I didn't realize you became a doctor while inside Behemoth's guts."

Adam shifted and leaned a bit further into the meat tunnel, "Peristalsis is the coordinated contraction of the muscle walls seen in the digestive system. So no Ramirez we are not in its anus, or even in its colon. I would wager to say we are walking into its throat."