Chapter Seventeen

Eden shivered, sniffling her wrinkled nose as the pouring rain attacked her like a runaway shower head. Dragging her windsor behind her, she ducked under one of the swirling masses of overhanging leaves for cover. She adjusted the black protective helmet over her head. It projected a full-sized screen onto her retina behind the visor. The night-vision setting cast a spectral green glow on her surroundings. Ardela and Thiago's silhouettes also appeared on the screen. Their bodies were reduced to blobs of neon green and orange, allowing them to stand out from the thermal imagery.

"Got it!" Ardela declared, waving the tracking device over her head triumphantly.

Eden slung the windsor over her shoulder. She joined Thiago and Ardela around a brown, dead patch of vegetation. It was a sharp contrast to its surroundings: the slight incline of a green hill covered with moss. Thiago squatted on the floor, digging out a frayed end of a piece of rope sticking out of the ground. A droplet of sweat made its way down the center of his face as he gave it a hard pull. A hidden door swung open, and he toppled back onto the ground, knocked over by his strength.

Ardela picked up the dislodged door and lay it flat on the opposite side of a gaping 4-foot-wide hole. She tapped on the side of her helmet, which matched the stripes and color scheme of her spaceship. A bright shaft of light radiated from the headlight centered above her visor, illuminating the dark opening.

"It looks like a long way to the bottom. I think it's a thirty foot drop, at least. We're looking at the location of someone who wants to say hidden," remarked Ardela. "There's only one way to find out what lies beneath. I'll jump in and send a signal if it's safe to come after me." She gave them a quick thumbs-up, nodding determinedly.

"Don't be reckless, Ardela."

Eden tiptoed over to look down into the pit. "Oh my God!" she screeched, nearly losing her balance in her shock.

As Thiago reached out to steady Eden, Ardela hopped into the opening, yelling whoops of exhilaration that echoed down the shaft behind her. After pacing around for a few painful seconds, a square band around his wrist blinked twice. He pulled up his visor and whistled.

Hercules came scampering at his master's call. The bristles of his hair that carpeted his body matted together from the rain. He shook himself dry to get ready for action. Eden wasn't ready for the beast's attempt to dry himself off, and she experienced the brunt of the inadvertent attack; water splashed all over her body.

Thiago patted the creature twice on the leg. Eden watched the jumbo-sized Hercules shrink back his legs like a closing accordion, adjusting his build so he could squeeze down the hole. Thiago turned to Eden. The heels of her feet scuffed against the mud as he guided her towards the edge. Her palms were sweating as she peered down the stark black hole beneath her feet, wondering what was waiting for her at the bottom.

"Whatever you do, keep your hands at your sides at all times," Thiago instructed as he took the windsor from Eden. "Are you ready?"

"No, not really," Eden squeaked. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, counting to ten. It was too late to turn back now. There was nowhere else for her to go. "Okay, I'm good. I'm as ready as I'm going to be."

She clamped her arms tightly against her sides. Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, she jumped. The jittery sensation in her stomach moved up her body, to her throat and head. Her back crashed against something solid, and she started sliding. She tried to take control of her descent, but there was nothing for her to grab. As she hurtled down the chute, her body smoothly skated down spiraling twists and turns. Her breath caught in her throat. She heard someone screaming, and she realized it was herself.

"Eden! Are you okay?"

She had stopped moving. A hysterical Eden quieted down immediately, trembling as she pushed up her visor. Ardela held out a hand, her pink brows knitted together with concern. Still shaking like a diabetic low on blood sugar, Eden looked around at the dark environment of the underground cavern. Hercules tilted his head, staring at her blankly.

"Herc, you're drooling all over me," Eden groaned. She reached up to accept Ardela's extended hand. "I'm okay, thanks. Who's that behind you?"

An airborne Runic with a crossbow slung over his shoulder appeared. It was swinging a baton with a tip ablaze with flames. Although she was disoriented, the sight of an enemy was enough to shoot adrenaline into Eden's system. Even though she didn't have any feeling in her legs, she dragged herself off the floor, tackling Ardela and shoving her off to the side.

Ardela helped Eden off the ground and brushed the dust from their bodies. Without looking back, she removed a snow-white weapon with a barrel tube from her satchel. Catching sight of the barrel of Ardela's weapon, the Runic sprang off the ground with his powerful hind legs. His webbed feet stuck onto the rocky walls of the cavern with suction cups, bits of gravel crumbling under his weight. Hercules clawed at the ceiling walls with his legs, snarling ferociously at an unseen assailant overhead.

Ardela trailed the Runic with the muzzle of her blaster as he leaped from wall to wall in an attempt to avoid her line of fire. She pulled the trigger on her weapon and a bolt of bluish-white light spurted out at her target. The Runic didn't have a chance. Ardela shot him in the center of his body. His entire body changed to a block of ice within seconds. Eden watched in horror as the ice sculpture fell from the cavern ceiling like a falling icicle and splintered into bloody fragments on the floor.

Something else tumbled out of the chute. It was Eden's windsor. She seized her weapon and hauled it out of the way, clearing an area for Thiago, who landed on the ground with a thud. Before they could orient themselves, a band of Runic underlings began swarming out from the south, charging towards them.

"Ardela, protect Eden. I'm going to find Salabar before the bastard tries to escape."

Hercules spread his opposable limbs, swooping in on the four unfortunate Runics leading the mob. There was a sickening crunch of bone as Hercules trampled and twisted their necks. Thiago clubbed a couple of aliens out of the way, darting into the hall and out of Eden's view. As Ardela blasted ice bolts at the Runics to their left, three minions wounded by Thiago started dragging themselves towards Eden.

Eden couldn't feel her legs any longer, but she managed to hoist her windsor over her head and start to swing. Her vision filled with blinding flashes of red. Her attacks knocked the three Runics back and forth. The windsor head pierced and gouged at the alien's sides, their shrieks of anguish resounding through the cavern as they held their maimed faces.

"Eden! You can stop now!"

Eden gasped as her haze lifted. Her eyes blinked in disbelief at the bodies littered on the ground. Ardela pulled up the visor of her helmet, displaying her hand and beckoning Eden to her side.

"It's time to go."

Eden nodded wordlessly. She lifted her windsor off the ground and raced after Ardela. The pair entered a series of winding tunnels, accelerating their pace as the sounds of a struggle grew louder.

Finally, they stumbled out of the closed tube. Eden needed to hold her thighs to keep herself standing upright. She took a deep breath to soothe her wheezing. Eden's frazzled eyes darted around wildly as she tried to locate Thiago.

"Watch your step. You don't want to fall over a cliff again," warned Ardela, holding an arm out in front of Eden.

"Whoa," Eden breathed. The core of the cavern in front of them consisted of rock formations forming natural bridges and footpaths, all suspended above a hissing pit of brilliant golden-red lava.

"Up there!"

Eden jabbed a finger towards Salabar and Thiago. The tussling pair was struggling on an unbarred footpath above them. Hercules snapped his pincers helplessly; he couldn't attack Salabar without hurting Thiago. He shifted uneasily across a path that was much too narrow for his size. He struggled to keep his balance, but he was devoted to his master and refused to leave.

Thiago grunted as Salabar wriggled free from his grasp. He spotted Ardela and Eden on the ground below them. He motioned towards his weapon, which lay just a few feet away from them. He scrambled after Salabar.

"Can one of you try to stun him?"

Eden dove into the corner, grabbing hold of Thiago's weapon. She tossed it to Ardela, who snatched it in midair with her gloved hands. Salabar had heard Thiago's instructions, of course. He narrowed his eyes as a look of surprise spread across his hideous features. He clenched his knotted fingers in their direction.

"You..."

Eden would never know what Salabar intended to say. Ardela fired, striking Salabar directly in the chest. Thiago's weapon was meant to kill, not stun or turn a victim to ice. A pool of red began to blossom on the thin fabric of Salabar's clothes. Small trickles of blood appeared on the corners of his mouth as he started to stagger backward.

Time slowed down for Eden as she screamed and reached out in a futile attempt to save the alien. Salabar's arms flailed as he toppled into the pit of lava.

Salabar was determined to take someone with him. His arms grabbed onto Thiago and Hercules in one final act of vengeance before his death, dragging them down with him into the fire below.