Dulce Depths: The Dulce Files, #3

By Greg Strandberg

The deepest, darkest secrets of Dulce Base are finally revealed in this thrilling conclusion to the Dulce Files series!

Three teams race to fight off the Gray/Reptilian agenda for earth!

• Mark, Turn, Heather and Paul Bennewitz race to the secret alien bases on the moon;
• Stan, Eddie, and Walter speed to a crashed UFO in Russia;
• And super soldier Tommy hurtles into the void in search of the alien soul catcher, with Charlie, Stu, and others back at Blue Lake overseeing it all.

What they find and the secrets they discover set them on a collission course back to Dulce Base, to the deepest levels...places even they didn't know existed. It sets the stage for a wild finale packed with all the ufology and super soldier lore you've been waiting for. Find out what happens in the thrilling conclusion to the Dulce Files!

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greg Strandberg
• Release date: Apr 24, 2024
• ISBN: 9798223014317

Greg Strandberg

Greg Strandberg was born and raised in Helena, Montana. He graduated from the University of Montana in 2008 with a BA in History.When the American economy began to collapse Greg quickly moved to China, where he became a slave for the English language industry. After five years of that nonsense he returned to Montana in June, 2013.When not writing his blogs, novels, or web content for others, Greg enjoys reading, hiking, biking, and spending time with his wife and young son.

Book preview

Prelude – The Cave

Archuleta Mesa, New Mexico

Summer 1550

Midday

The sun beat down mercilessly.

Running with Dew brought his hand up to his forehead to brush the sweat away. His hairband was soaked. The Jicarilla Indian brave knew he’d have to take it off and wring it out again soon. But he didn’t want to. Not yet. Not until they made it. Not until they reached the cave.

C’mon, let’s go back! Kicking Wolf says a short distance behind.

"Aye-ya! Long Strands says, turning about in disgust. You’ve been saying that for the past two hours!"

Well it’s hot!

It’s summer!

And I’m hungry.

And you’ll both shut up! Running with Dew says loudly, turning on them and giving them a sharp look. His friends put their hands up, say, Okay, okay! and they move on in silence again...until Kicking Wolf starts to complain again ten minutes later.

Maybe we took a wrong turn.

Running knows the way, Long Strands says.

Do you? Kicking Wolf asks.

Running with Dew turns around again. Of course I do. I’ve been here twice before, I told you.

And did you see...them?

Who?

The monsters?

Running with Dew scoffs. You don’t believe in that crap, do you?

Well...I mean... Kicking Wolf says, his eyes going up to the sky, then over to some rocks before settling back on Running with Dew, ...don’t you?

Of course, the brave says, turning around again and getting them moving.

They move on for another minute before Long Strands speaks up. "But did you...see them?"

Monsters? No.

"Did you see...anything?"

Running with Dew takes a few more steps and then slows to a stop. He stands there a moment, wonders if he should tell them...wonders if he should say anything at all. And doing so, his mind races...races back to that night two months before.

The rains were finally ending and the ground was firming up again. The land was coming back to life, and with it, the animals were coming awake. Hunting time was upon them.

Running with Dew waited until after dinner one night and grabbed his bow and then slipped out of his family’s tepee. Crouching low, he crept to the edge of camp – waited, looked – and when he was sure it was clear he took off running. He wanted to see what he could find. It was late, he didn’t ask, didn’t take anyone with him.

Then he saw an antelope.

A good one, too. Swift and fast and healthy. He brought his bow up, aimed, fired...and hit!

But it was a hit on the hindquarters and the animal bolted and ran. Frowning, Running with Dew made to follow, figuring the animal would tire itself out in due course. Alas, that wasn’t the case. The animal ran and ran and the next thing Running knew, it was dark and he was miles from home.

He turned and looked back the way he’d come. The faint outline of the mountains far to the north...the river, somewhere to the south...and nothing else – not even the outline of the forest near the village.

Have I really come that far?

Running made to start back, but something in his mind...stopped him. He couldn’t put his thumb on what it was, just some...feeling, some faint little whisper in the back of his mind, telling him to, come on...keep going...just a little bit further...

Turning looked up...and turned back to the pursuit.

What am I, he thought, a scared little boy?

So it was that he went on, following the deer’s tracks.

And that’s how he found the cave.

The antelope got into the rocky lands surrounding the high mesa. It began to descend the craggy inclines, going lower and lower as the ground rose and sunk in this strange land of mishappen shapes and formations.

Running followed, something that was easy with the trail of blood. This dark, he needed it. Drops spattered on rocks here, leaves broken there...all led the way. Led him right down to an opening in the rock wall of the mesa itself.

A cave...a dark, ominous and wide-open cave. It was darker than night inside, earie, strange, foreboding. It’d be the perfect place for a monster to live. That thought made him think back to Killer of Enemies.

The Jicarilla creation story says Creator gave the land bounded by four sacred rivers to the tribe. Mountains were provided to give shelter, protection, security. The land was rich in the items the Indians needed for their ceremonial rituals, things like white clay and red and yellow ochre. It soon became clear to the people that they were living in the ‘heart of the world.’

The people settled and prospered and grew. The seasons came and went, the population grew. The spirit of Water was strong in the lands, and together with the spirit of Change they gave birth to White Shell Woman. She came into existence when the Talking God and the Wind breathed life into two shells. She chose a mountain stream as her companion and gave birth to two sons who grew up to protect the land from monsters.

Oh, and did the monsters abound at that time!

That’s why Creator sent Killer of Enemies. No one knew where he came from, and he certainly wasn’t born amongst the tribe. He wasn’t human, that was clear. It only made sense that he was one of White Shell Woman’s two sons. So the tribe trusted him and he guided them and taught them the necessary skills to survive in this harsh and unforgiving land. Skills, wisdom and laws all came from him. Before his arrival, the tribes knew nothing of warfare, hunting, and even basic survival. They had no written language. They couldn’t even ride horses or make arrows or take a scalp!

Killer of Enemies changed all that. He gave them rules to follow, a way of life to adhere to. He gave the people purpose. More, he gave them a glimpse of their future, for Killer of Enemies had the gift of second sight, far-seeing, and foretelling. He told the people they all had the same gifts as well. And those gifts would come to them when they completed their vision quests.

Running continued to stare at the cave that day, all by himself and feeling a bit scared. A sense of dread shot out at Running right when he laid eyes on the place, and he knew instinctively that he should run and never look back.

He wanted to, oh so badly, but then looked down and saw a droplet of blood. The deer...it’d gone...inside.

Why?

Running stood there staring into the darkness of the cave wondering that...when the sound started. 

It was some kind of faint hum, barely discernible at first. But it grew in pitch and intensity until it was so loud Running had to put his hands to his ears, it hurt so badly. But worse than the sound was the dread that filled his heart and spread out through his body, causing his hackles to rise and every hair of his body to stand on end.

Running with Dew did turn and run then, ran as fast as he could to get out of there, never turning to look back, the deer forgotten.

Well? Long Strands says, his arms crossed in front of himself and one leg cocked out to the side. It’s clear he’s annoyed, waiting for Running’s response.

Did I see anything? Running says, repeating the question, turning to his friend. Then he shakes his head. No...nothing.

Long Strands frowns and gives a nod and the three braves move on.

Running doesn’t feel bad about his half-truth, either. He never did see anything, that was true. But Kicking Wolf didn’t ask if he’d heard anything. And he wasn’t about to say he had, lest the two turn tail and run like he did all those months before. He couldn’t afford that. He needed them here, needed their support.

The idea of doing this alone was just too much, too dreadful a thought. Since that day he’d thought of this cave a lot. He called it the cave of evil, the cave of nightmares, the cave of...it.

But what was...it?

Running couldn’t put his finger on that. He knew it was a lot more than a sound, that terrible piercing sound that made his head feel like it’d explode. He’d thought a lot about that since then, and he’d come to the conclusion that the sound was a warning, a kind of security device...much like the bells the old women hung on lines around the village, to sound if enemies or predators should try to slip by.

Old women put the bells around the village; but who’d put that sound in the cave?

Running had no idea...or so he said to himself. But in that time between wakefulness and sleep, as he shut his eyes and tried to dream for the night, the stories of old always came to him.

The story of Killer of Enemies.

The story of Child of Water.

And perhaps most important of all, the story of Little Blue Rock.

The braves move on in silence, the rocky landscape rising and lowering around them as the land shifts and dips here and there. The sun is hot on their shoulders, and each is glad he wore his short tunic as opposed to pants. Just having their legs free to the wind does so much to cool them.

As they move, the grass grows less. Boulders become more plentiful as they approach the base of the mesa. Trees give way to scrub brush as they advance, and the tall grasses begin to recede, becoming stony ground and loose, dry dirt.

And then they reach their destination.

Here it is, Running says as they come down a slight decline, a sort of trail made by game and the spring rains.

Wow, Kicking Wolf says, that’s...hardly anything.

Beside him, Long Strands laughs. When you said cave, I thought you meant something...big – this opening is barely a hole in the rock!

It’s a lot bigger when you get down there, Running says.

The braves move down the trail and get to the cave entrance. It’s a good fifteen feet below the surrounding land, hidden for the most part. It has some loose rocks skittering out as they approach. Boulders crowd around the entrance unnaturally, like they were placed there somehow. And just as Running implied, when the braves get down and in front of that opening, they see that it’s a very large cave, too, one with walls spaced more than twenty feet apart.

So are we gonna go inside or what? Long Strands asks, impatience in his voice as he runs his moccasin toe through the dirt.

How far you think it goes? Kicking Wolf asks.

Running shrugs. Who knows. It’s pretty dark but I’d bet there’s a wall back there not more than twenty, maybe thirty feet, that we can’t see.

Probably, Kicking Wolf agrees.

And we won’t find out by standing here, Long Strands says, and then takes a few steps forward, crossing the cave threshold and getting inside. He turns and looks back at his companions. Well?

The other two look at one another, shrug, and then make to follow. Long Strands nods and turns back around and continues on into the cave. He makes it another dozen feet when...something appears further up ahead.

W-what’s that? Running says from behind him, narrowing his eyes to look.

I...I dunno, Long Strands says, bringing his hand up to his forehead as he, too, narrows his eyes.

Looks like...some kind of...red light, Kicking Wolf says.

Running nods, for he’s seeing the same. In the distance – about where he thought the back wall of the cave would be – is a red light. It shines faintly, but Running can tell it’s growing in intensity...and perhaps even in size, too.

A moment later the reddish glow is joined by a faint humming sound.

W-what’s that? Kicking Wolf says.

Up ahead of them a few feet, Long Strands stops and looks back at them nervously. Some kind of sound. Is it...is it coming from the light?

I dunno, Running says, but I think we should turn back.

Don’t be silly, Long Strands says with a scoff. You’re sounding like a maiden, not a brave.

Running frowns to that, firms up his jaw. He’s no coward and certainly no woman. If Long Strands wants to go further into the cave – even with that strange light and sound – then Running decides he’ll be right there behind him. Long Strands can see that, so turns back around and takes another few steps deeper into the cave.

That’s when the light grows sharper, brighter, and begins to...wobble and shake and shimmer a bit, almost like it’s moving. With it, the humming sound increases in pitch and intensity, so much so that Running considers bringing his hands up to his ears to block it out.

He’s about to turn to Kicking Wolf beside him to see how he’s doing, but then the flash comes.

It’s blinding.

A white hot, piercing flash of light that just appears out of nowhere and fills the cave with so much light that Running has to jerk his hand up to his eyes to block it out.

And then he hears the scream.

Aaaahhh! it comes, up ahead and from Long Strands.

Following the sound is a smell...a terrible, burning smell.

Running jerks his hand away from his face, no longer concerned about the bright light. But as he does so, he sees the light has faded considerably, little more than its afterglow remaining. The faint red light in the distance has grown stronger, though, and the humming sound is still there.

But that’s not what Running really notices.

No, his eyes latch onto Long Strands...or what’s left of him.

There on the cave floor is Long Strands, or more appropriately, his smoking husk of a body. It’s black and charred like it’s been spit and roasted over a fire all day.

What in Creator’s name! Running thinks, but not for long. Next him, his friend shouts out.

Run! Kicking Wolf says beside him, even reaching a hand out to grab onto Running’s arm to pull him along.

Running doesn’t need to be told twice.

He spins around and starts to run...and none too quick. Behind him, that light is growing brighter, that sound louder.

Then the blinding flash of light comes again.

This time both Running and Kicking Wolf scream.

Running trips and stumbles and collapses facedown onto the ground, his legs all of a sudden not working. His heart is beating and he’s panting for breath. Maybe that’s why it takes him a few seconds to register...the immense , searing pain.

That’s when his eyes go wide and he feels like screaming, it’s