Free Pilgrim by S.J. Bryant Page A

The cavern was filled with brightly lit plants.
They clung to the walls and floor of the cave, casting a blue glow
over the whole scene. The glowing light at her hip barely made any
difference to the shining blue chamber.
    The plants were mostly mushrooms although
some vines crawled along the cave walls. The plants shone out and
created a friendly glow which counteracted the encroaching
darkness. A leak in the ceiling far above was dripping water down
onto a flat rock.
    “The mystery of the dripping is solved,”
Nova said as she took in the falling water. “Fluorescent plants in
abundance. These look to have occurred naturally as opposed to the
usual artificial breeds. A sample of the plant has been taken and
labelled A.”
    She spoke the audio log as she placed her
gun on the ground. Bending down, she used a pair of tweezers to
pluck a small mushroom and lower it into a sealed tube. She held
her breath throughout the whole process in case the mushroom
released spores as a defensive strategy. It would be a severe
embarrassment if she had survived everything so far only to die
here at the hands of a small glowing mushroom. The mushroom
continued to glow even when isolated inside the glass. Nova slipped
the vial into her bag where a pocket held it firmly in place before
standing, gun in hand.
    Huge rock formations decorated the cave.
They hung down from the ceiling and extended up from the floor.
Some had connected to form massive columns of stone. Their uneven
surfaces reflected the blue light of the plants.
    Her attention was ripped from the rocks by a
crunch behind her. She took a step forward and turned to face the
noise. The blue glow of the plants illuminated a figure shuffling
towards her. It looked human but walked with a definite hunch. It
was at least a foot taller than Nova and the sound of scraping dirt
accompanied its approach.
    Nova’s heart beat faster and she was
suddenly aware of how alone she was down in the tunnels. She
couldn’t even be sure that Cal knew where she was. Her breath
scraped against her throat as her eyes darted about the chamber.
She clenched her gun tighter to keep from shaking.
    “Stop where you are,” she said.
    The creature didn’t respond.
    “Stop or I’ll shoot,” she said, steadying
her gun.
    The creature moaned but didn’t stop moving
forward. Nova backed away a few more paces.
    “Cal! Cal! I need a new translator patch,”
she said. If she’d ever needed her robot, it was now. The darkness
and weight of the tunnels pushed down on her, making it hard to
breathe. Cal didn’t respond.
    “Damned robot,” she said as desperation
flooded through her.
    She turned right and made a dash for the
tunnel she’d come through . The creature behind turned to follow
her. She jogged down the tunnel but didn’t bother sprinting, the
figure seemed slow at best.
    “Did your people do the carvings?” Nova
called over her shoulder. Crunching footsteps were her only
reply.
    She ran to where the path split and retraced
her footsteps. She continued until she came back out into the open
expanse of the cavern. In the distance somewhere was the crashed
colony ship. She raced towards it.
    That was when things got bad.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER
SEVEN

    The glowing ball at Nova’s waist reflected
back from more than twenty sets of eyes. They gleamed in the dim
cavern and were accompanied by low growls. She couldn’t make out
any of the cavern walls; there was just the darkness and the eyes.
In the dim light, she made out vague faces but they were moving in
and out of the shadows so quickly that she couldn’t be certain. The
eyes moved closer, surrounding her on all sides.
    “I mean no harm,” she said, holding up her
hands. Fear had a firm hold of her heart. She would have shot them
all and run if she thought she could kill them all before they
reached her. Instead, she had to hope they understood and weren’t
planning on killing her where she stood. The gun reflected