2012

The helicopter bucked in the atmospheric disturbance. Even with hardened systems, it was almost impossible to fly. Still, Seifert caught a good view as they landed outside Lausanne. It looked like God used a giant ice cream scoop to scrape up Geneva—and 100 kilometers surrounding it.

Lightning and thunder roiled in the torn sky as Seifert headed for the command bunker. The team was crammed inside with monitoring gear. “What’s the latest?”

“Sir.” Rast pointed to the display bank. “ROV is still tracking.”

“How far?”

“GPS is out due to the microwave disruptions. Best guess is two klicks.”

Seifert frowned. “Are they ours?”

“Feed is too fuzzy, but I’d hazard a negative. Initial analysis indicates that they’re over two meters tall. Also, facial structure is definitely not human norm.”

Seifert shot his second a look. “You aren’t suggesting these are creatures from the center of the earth.”

“I can’t say, sir.” Rast offered a tight smile. “But they’re certainly not from around here.”