by Linda Mooney
For as far as… Oh my God. Lights!
The tunnel was filled with light from the parallel rows of glyphs lining the tunnel floor. No, not both sides. One side, she quickly corrected herself. The left side was lit, but the right side wasn’t. In fact… She bent closer to look. The right side didn’t look to be finished. The rocks lining the tunnel bed closest to her were unmarked. Yet, a couple of meters away, there were carved ones.
As the quake receded, several furries turned back to the corridor walls and resumed gnawing on the rock. Kelen blinked, unable to believe what she was seeing. The furries were using their teeth to carve into the rock. Carving the symbols she and the others had discovered in many of the tunnels on this world. The furries were creating the pictographs she’d seen in the tunnels here and at the garden temple.
Chambliss, what if these furries are the dominant species on this planet?
It grew silent outside. Cautiously, Kelen backed out of the tunnel and into the golden chamber. The furries followed her, emerging from the corridor to find that the destruction had been complete and, from what they could tell, very little remained of the cavern.
Chapter 10
Feed
Everyone braced themselves against the freezing cold stone walls to wait out the ice quake. It seemed to last longer than usual, but there didn’t appear to be as much vibration coming from it as before. At the most, small rocks fell from overhead and dust filled the air. When it was over, they heaved sighs of relief and brushed themselves off.
“That must have been an aftershock from the quake we experienced in the fire temple,” Sandow remarked.
“If that’s true, we might be able to use that data to determine the size of this planet, including how far apart these temples are,” Mellori commented.
Fullgrath snorted. “If we manage to live long enough.”
Grabbing a leg of the creature he’d killed, Cooter began to skin the thing. “It’s still warm. I don’t mind chowing down on meat this way. Always did prefer mine on the bloody side. You let me know how you want yours. I’ll cut off some slices for those of you who prefer to cook yours over the fire first.”
“Is it safe to eat?” Kleesod questioned.
The doctor scanned the carcass and gave a nod. “It appears safe. No infestations that I can find. But you know as well as I do that there are bacteria and germs, and God knows what else is on this planet that we know nothing about that could be in this thing. None of which I’ve calibrated this scanner to detect.”
“The way I see it, if we eat, we could die. If we don’t eat, we will die. Hand me a steak, Coot. I’m too hungry to wait,” Fullgrath commented.
Kyber and his fellow crew members also took their portions raw, although he personally would have preferred the flesh be singed slightly to seal in the juices. As hungry as he was, it didn’t matter that it wasn’t cooked. After half a dozen bites, he could feel strength returning to him as his body absorbed the proteins and nutrients.
Everything in him wanted to go search for Kelen. The urge was almost impossible to resist, but his military training and common sense were pounding common sense into his head. No matter how much he argued with himself, he knew he had to eat first. Or else he would be unable to render any sort of aid if she was in need.
But what if she needs help now? What if my delay in getting to her costs her life?
The pain in his chest refused to let up, but he continued to tear off chunks of the creature’s raw flesh and force himself to eat as much as his shrunken stomach could tolerate.
The small room grew quiet except for the sounds of eating. Kyber licked his fingers and glanced over at where the creature’s remains lay against the fire. They had consumed most of the hind quarters, but there appeared to be the forequarters and no telling what internal organs remaining. In this sub-zero weather, there wasn’t the fear of the meat spoiling. After Cooter checked to see if anyone wanted any more, he wrapped the remaining flesh in the skin.
Massapa got to his feet and stretched. “I have been thinking,” he softly announced. “If we are destined to remain here for the rest of our lives, be it a short period of time or, the four gods willing, longer, I believe we should fill that time with finding out all we can about this world.”
Everyone stared at him. “For what purpose?” Mellori inquired.
The black and brown furred Seneecian gazed at each of them before answering. “For the benefit of those who will come after us.”
“What are you talking about?” Fullgrath queried.
“I understand what he’s saying, and he’s right,” Sandow agreed. “At some point in the future, most likely not in our lifetime, there might be others who crash land here. Or maybe some alien explorers will reach this world. The more information we can leave behind, the greater the chance they will survive.” He eyed each man and continued. “The least we can do is gather up and record every bit of information we can about this place. At least it will keep us occupied.”
“Remember,” Gaveer informed them. “If it were not for those warnings the people before us left, we would not have been aware of Hoov’s duplicity. We would not have been on guard. Those explorers who did that, who were here before us, saved our lives.”
“The question remains, what is our next move?” Massapa asked, looking up at Kyber. “It is too dark, and we have no tube lights to guide us. If we tried to go down the tunnel, or use the transportation panel, we could fall into a hole. Or worse, we may be accosted by Hoov and its people.”
“She may be in need of us,” Kyber argued. “She may be dying. Every hour, every minute is crucial.”
“We must stay the night, Kyber,” Kleesod insisted. “I know you want to go find her. We all do. But to go now would be suicidal.”
Mellori walked up and laid a hand on Kyber’s arm. “First light, Kyber. We’ll go at first light. And we won’t stop until we find her.”
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Kyber motioned to Jules who was hunched over his tablet. “How close are we to her now? To the signal? Can you tell? Or give us a rough estimate?”
Jules lifted a worried face. His pale face was evident in the flickering firelight, and Kyber felt his fear rise another notch.
“What? What is it?”
The ex-navigator pointed to his tablet. “That yellow light? It’s no longer lit.”
“What about her signal from the communications device?”
“It’s no longer blinking, either.”
“Could that last tremor have cause the light to go out? Maybe it disrupted the signal,” Massapa presumed.
Jules shrugged. “It’s possible. I wish I could be more certain.”
Kyber clenched his hands. No signal. No clear enough light to see by. Kleesod was correct when he said that trying to go after Kelen at the moment would be suicidal.
“She could still be alive,” Mellori whispered. “Don’t give up hope yet, Kyber. We haven’t.”
Bowing his head, Kyber acquiesced. “Very well. But as soon as it gets light enough to see any amount of distance, we leave for below. Jules, if her signal reappears, let me know immediately.” He tried to make his words sound more like a request and less as an order. But he knew as soon as the sentence was past his lips, he’d failed. Fortunately, Jules didn’t take offense and slowly nodded.
He bent to refresh the fire, setting more of the flammable rocks inside the makeshift pit. The rest made themselves comfortable to try and catch whatever sleep they could, but no one expected to get much rest.
Chapter 11
Relocation
The few panels that remained continued to cast off their lemon-colored luminescence. But there were too few left to illuminate the full depth of the cavern. It didn’t matter. By the force of the wind blasting through the room, Kelen could tell there wasn’t much left of the chamber. That last ice quake had taken out most of the side of the cliff where the cavern was located.
Several fuzzies exited the small tunnel to stand next to
her and between her feet. She couldn’t imagine what they were thinking right now, or how they were feeling. But she knew they were also realizing there was no returning to this ruined area, and she sympathized.
She shivered in the cold. Wrapping her arms around herself, she glanced down at them. “Okay, where do we go now?”
As if in answer, they turned and reentered the tunnel. Kelen gave their former home one last wistful glance, then turned to follow them.
The swarm of furries undulated like a patchwork blanket of golds and yellows as they moved through the tunnel. The fuzzies which had been chewing on the rock and creating the glyphs abandoned their projects and joined the throng.
After crawling for what seemed like an hour or more, they stopped at a widening that looked similar to other areas. The creatures were unusually silent, unless they were communicating in a range her ears couldn’t distinguish. They had no food, no water. And I have no weapon, Kelen regretted. In that split second she’d had to get away from the oncoming rift tearing through the chamber floor, she’d had the choice between grabbing her blaster or saving Five from where it was hiding under the bowl. Her conscience had made her decision easy. She’d chosen to preserve a life.
A signal was passed through the mass of fuzzies and they resumed their trek to another location. Kelen tried to keep up, but after another dozen meters her leg gave out on her. She collapsed onto her belly, laying her cheek to the ground.
Five came around to face her and chittered.
“I’m sorry. I can’t go on. At least not right now. Let me rest a bit, and then I’ll try to catch up.”
Five waved three of its arms. The creature was clearly agitated, either because of her refusal, or because of another reason. Kelen inwardly groaned. What she wouldn’t have given for a translator at that moment.
Grandpa limped over to join them. The elderly creature placed its paw on the side of her nose and purred. Kelen didn’t respond. Instead, she closed her eyes, too tired to argue. Five wouldn’t accept her refusal. It patted her nose, insisting. Kelen gently swiped it away. “I can’t.”
She slipped into unconsciousness. For how long, she couldn’t tell. When she awoke she found herself alone. She managed to rise onto her hands and knees to continue onward with the soft illumination coming from the two rows of glyphs lighting her way.
She heard the sound coming from ahead the same moment she caught sight of the end of the tunnel. Tiny screams filtered to her, and a wave of fear chilled her to the bone.
Gradually poking her head into the connecting tunnel, she glanced both ways. To the right was absolute darkness, but there was some sort of hazy light filtering from the left. Crawling into the corridor, she found she could stand erect if she used the wall to support herself. With the light and the noises guiding her, she advanced toward what she knew would be another chamber.
The pale lavender light clued her in to the fact that she’d reached another one of those purple caverns. Worse, the noises told her there were Hoov’s people up ahead. How many, she couldn’t tell, but her first thought was for the safety of the furries. Kelen pushed herself to go see what was happening, fearful of what she’d find.
As she drew nearer, the light brightened as it also darkened in hue. The noises were becoming more distinct, leaving her with little doubt that what she was praying wasn’t happening was.
She paused in the opening. Nothing. The place was bare.
“No. No, they’re there, but they’re underneath the floor,” she reminded herself aloud. She knew she had two choices. She could retreat back the way she came and try to find another tunnel. Or she could lower herself beneath the purple flooring to face Hoov and its people as they slaughtered the helpless furries. “But I don’t have a weapon! I don’t have any way of protecting them or myself if I did that!”
The high-pitched shrieks were pathetic to hear. As Kelen listened, tears streamed down her face as she imagined the terror the little creatures were facing. After a few more seconds, she knew she couldn’t desert them. Not after what they had done to save her life.
Entering the chamber, she sat on the lip of the ledge that extended over the metallic-looking floor and pressed down on it with her toes. The panel tilted slightly, revealing the dirt floor approximately five meters below.
Five meters and a bum leg.
Another little scream came to her. A frail, helpless cry of pain. It was too much for her to delay any longer.
“Fuck this. If I have to, I’ll momma bear this and pray for the best.”
Swiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Kelen braced herself. Turning around, she slowly slid her body down the side of the ledge until she was half-in, half-out of the lower cavern. Taking a deep breath, she let go of the stone slab and dropped to the dirt floor. There was a moment of pain when she landed, but she remembered to roll as the panel overhead melded back into place.
Getting to her feet, she quickly assessed herself. So far, so good. Nothing broken or damaged any more than it already was. Mentally setting herself, she followed the smell and squeals of the carnage.
She didn’t have far to go.
Rounding the first set of semi-transparent rooms, she discovered a Hoov creature fighting against what appeared to be half a dozen furries. The little aliens had their teeth locked onto the bigger alien’s appendages as the creature tried to dislodge them. As she approached, the Hoov thing managed to lock onto one furry clinging to the back of its shoulder. Tearing the fuzzy away resulted in also ripping a portion of its own flesh from its body, as the fuzzy’s teeth remained embedded. The Hoov thing screamed in pain as it squeezed the furry into a bloody pulp.
Pure hot rage pumped through her. Gritting her teeth, she raced toward the Hoov creature. With both fists, she pounded downward across its back, knocking the creature into a nearby stone pillar. With the thing momentarily stunned, she hit it again, and the thing slumped to the floor. Before it could recover, she slammed one booted foot into the thing’s face and head, and continued grinding until there was nothing left.
The fuzzies let go of the creature, but it was clear they had all suffered some sort of injury. Blood splattered the walls. Down the corridor, Kelen could see blood trails leading away.
She bent down and gently gathered the furries into her arms. The tiny creatures didn’t protest as she carried them away from the scene.
Ducking into the nearest room, she checked around for signs of occupancy. From the undisturbed dust on the floor, the place appeared as if it hadn’t been used for some time. Setting the fuzzies down, she hurried over to the wall and pressed the panels, looking for water, food, anything that would help.
Two drawers popped open. One contained a bowl of the porridge-like substance. The other held a bowl of water. Taking the two containers over to the creatures, she placed them on the ground beside them.
“I know you don’t understand me, but I’m going to leave you here. I think you’ll be safe. I’m going after the others to try and save as many as I can. I don’t know if I’ll be back. If I don’t return, hopefully you’ll be able to find your way out of this place and to somewhere that’s safer.”
One furry with a bad gash on the side of its body peered up at her and peeped. None of the others responded.
Rising, Kelen went back to the wall and retrieved a bowl of water for herself, quickly gulping it down. Somewhat refreshed, she steeled herself and left the room to see if there were any more furries she could help.
Chapter 12
Reunion
She only had to follow the noise and the trail of bloodstains and little furry bodies to find the red chamber where the carnage was taking place. Keeping to the shadows, Kelen glanced around the opening of the cavern to get an idea of what was happening.
Three of Hoov’s people stood over a small group of furries near the center of the room. From what she could ascertain, the furries were all that remained of the larger group which had fled the yellow hive chamber. Barely two, maybe three
dozen survived. She could only hope more had managed to escape and avoid being captured.
The mantis-like Hoov creatures towered over the fuzzies as they slowly advanced toward them, herding them into a small, denser group. Kelen saw one Hoov thing raise two limbs, revealing the needles it would plunge into the little creatures and inject them with venom.
Not realizing she still held the bowl in her hand, Kelen went directly for the nearest creature. Grasping the bowl with both hands, she raised over her head, intending to bring it down across the thing’s back, the same way she’d attacked the other creature. One Hoov thing caught sight of her and turned, letting out a screech of warning. The creature she targeted rotated its head as she struck it squarely on the neck. The thing buckled, but the others were already alerted to her presence.
Gasping from the effort, Kelen looked down at the furries who remained petrified in fear. “Run! Run!” She waved her hand at them with a shooing motion. “Go!”
Realizing they no longer had the advantage, the Hoov creatures turned on her. Kelen backed away, hoping to draw the mantis-like aliens away from the fuzzies in order to give the little beings a better chance of escaping.
“Come on, you ugly motherfuckers! Come get me!”
The sound behind her was no louder than a foot stepping on the loose rocks on the ground, but it seemed to echo inside the cavern, alerting her to the unexpected danger. Whirling around, Kelen saw another Hoov thing trying to stealthily approach from her rear. She threw a glance over her shoulder to see they had managed to box her in. It left her with one option. Raising the bowl over her head, she started to rush the creature when it raised four limbs, poisonous spikes positioned to inject her with its venom.
The Hoov’s head exploded, sending brains and blood in all directions. Kelen ducked, gore splattering her as the familiar whine of a pulse rifle re-energizing signaled another shot. At the same time, a voice bellowed through the chamber.
