Chapter 14 Clare
Clare
The rock in front of me vanished.
I blinked, not believing my eyes. One second it was there: solid, grey stone that had felt as hard as any rock would.
The next second, it had disappeared, revealing a dark tunnel entrance.
I tentatively stretched out my arm to feel for the rock that had been there.
All my fingers found was air. The rock really had vanished. Wow.
"That was...unexpected," Venom said from behind me.
His voice shook slightly. Exhaustion, maybe?
It couldn't have been easy to move up this mountain without legs.
He had an effective slithering motion that enabled him to keep up with me, but I'd seen him wince whenever a sharp rock had touched his scales.
Not that I'd been walking particularly fast. My feet had miraculously healed from most of my injuries, but I was still sore and exhausted.
Would a comfortable bed be too much to hope for in this cave?
I turned to look at the drone that had been following us at a steady distance ever since Venom had first attracted its attention.
I'd got used to the slight whizzing sound, although I refused to think about what it symbolised.
People were watching us. They knew where we were.
And they did not have our best interests at heart.
Hopefully, it wouldn't be able to follow us inside. The gap in the rock was just about wide enough to allow Venom to squeeze through.
Ready? I asked in my head. I was getting more and more used to our telepathic communication. Not that we'd talked much on the climb up here. We'd both needed all our focus for the narrow, rocky path.
Let's find out what awaits us. I will go in first.
I wanted to argue with that, but Venom knew more about this place, this world, than I did.
It made sense for him to lead. But I made a mental note to remind him in future that I was not going to stand behind him at any sign of danger.
I was a strong, independent woman. I'd known that even before my memories had been returned to me.
He squeezed through the opening. I couldn’t resist watching how elegantly he moved.
He was so very alien, yet familiar at the same time.
He was strong yet flexible, snake-like yet also human.
My gaze flitted downward. He did not have a bum, not like a human would.
And while the leather belt covered where his crotch would have been, I was sure he did not have anything…
hanging there. I tried not to blush as I imagined how nagas made love.
I was fascinated by him and desperate to find out more about his kind.
But I also knew that we had to focus on surviving in this hostile world.
I remembered the dinosaur-monster that had been chasing me and shuddered.
Just because there weren’t any monsters right now didn’t mean that we were safe.
All we could hope for was that this cave wasn’t already occupied by something hungry.
“Unbelievable!” Venom exclaimed suddenly. With one last look at the diamond mountains painted orange by the setting sun, I followed him into the cave.
A short, dark passage barely gave way to the unexpected.
I suppressed a gasp as I joined Venom who was waiting for me on a stone ledge.
A huge cavern lay before us, bigger than the chii’s den, bigger than any I’d ever seen.
The ceiling was mostly made from a smooth, black rock, with small patches of diamonds that let in some light.
Glowing orbs attached to the walls gave extra light.
The floor was covered in crates of all shapes and sizes, ranging from something small enough for me to carry all the way to metal boxes as tall as a house.
To our right, a dark tunnel entrance loomed.
This cave may not be the only one beneath this mountain. A cool draft made me shiver.
“What are all those crates?” I asked Venom.
“See that logo on the big one over there? That’s the original Trials of Kalumbu emblem, from back when the game makers first started broadcasting.
That was many generations ago. I wonder if they did not have the same facilities in orbit back then and relied on having places for storage and supplies on the planet’s surface. ”
“Is this safe? If this cave belongs to the game makers, won’t they have cameras in here, or some other surveillance system?”
“I doubt anyone remembers this place,” Venom said thoughtfully.
“I certainly never heard about it, and I have been deep in the Kalumbu systems and archives. There are a few small outposts scattered about the planet, mostly for drone maintenance and repair, but nothing as big as this. We will proceed with caution, but I don’t think we are in any immediate danger. ”
I still didn’t feel comfortable with the situation. “But they know where we are now. The drone is still outside.”
Venom looked at me, exhaustion suddenly evident in his slouched shoulders and half-closed eyes.
“Yes, they do. But remember, this is a game for them. We are their entertainment. They won’t send some of their goons to kill us in our sleep.
They want our deaths to be graphic and brutal.
They will flush us out until their monsters can do their dirty work. For tonight, we are safe. I promise.”
I wanted to argue that there was no way he could promise me such a thing, but I was tired as well. Maybe it was better to keep up the illusion of relative safety. And staying in this cave was miles better than sleeping outside.
A narrow ramp led down from the ledge to the cave floor.
I was starting to suspect that we’d come through some kind of emergency exit and that the cave had a larger entrance somewhere else.
These crates had to have been brought in somehow.
Hopefully, that other entrance was locked and wouldn’t let in any monsters.
It was markedly colder in here than in the chii den. “What are the chances we might find some warm clothes and cushions in those crates?” I asked, trying to sound upbeat even as a shiver ran down my arms.
Venom grimaced. “Very unlikely, I’d say. But at least we have blankets. Let’s find a comfortable spot, then we can explore the cave further.”
This time, I took the lead, even though I could see Venom wasn’t too pleased by that. He just had to get used to the idea that I was not going to cower behind him like a damsel in distress.
The cave floor was so smooth that I almost slipped.
The leather wraps the chii had provided me with had protected me from injuring my feet during our hike, but they were slowly unravelling.
They were not a long-term solution, but I doubted I’d find shoes in any of the crates.
It was strange how you didn’t appreciate simple things like shoes and clothes until they were taken from you.
The gaps between the crates were large enough for Venom and me to walk side by side. Well, I walked, Venom slithered. His movements were becoming slower. Was it just exhaustion or something else? His stoic, determined expression made me keep quiet and resist the urge to ask him if he was alright.
“Look, over there!” He pointed at a huge stack of crates to our left, right underneath a diamond patch. “That crate is open. Shall we have a peek?”
“Definitely. I’d quite like to know what they’re storing in here. If you could wish for anything you’d wanted, what would you like to find in the crate?”
Venom chuckled. “I like this game. But my wish has already been answered. You are here with me.”
I swallowed hard as heat pulsed through my body. I should laugh it off, but I was really touched by his words. They were cheesy, but they were also resonating deep within me. Did I really mean that much to him? When we’d only just met?
“I apologise, I should not have said that,” he muttered, misinterpreting my silence. “I will keep to our arrangement and focus on our survival.”
Venom turned to the open crate which reached to his scaled chest. Was he always naked except for that leather belt around the waist or had the game makers taken his clothes? It seemed the wrong moment to ask.
His eyes lit up when he peeked inside. “We’ll be eating well tonight!
This one is full of ration packs. They’re old, very old, but they’re the fancy ones that basically last forever and don’t taste like sawdust. We can have some together with the food the chii gave us and take more with us for when we move on. ”
He pulled a couple of small squares wrapped in yellow foil from the crate. Something was off about his movements. They were jerky, as if he didn’t have full control over his muscles.
“Is everything alright?” I asked before I could stop myself.
He didn’t look at me when he replied. “I’m not good with cold. This cave is cooler than I expected.”
Of course! He was a snake. Well, half a snake. It shouldn’t surprise me that he was cold-blooded and needed warmth to function.
I dropped the bundle of blankets I’d been carrying and undid the rope the chii had tied around them. There were four of them, all thin and light, but the chii had promised that they would be warmer than they looked.
“We cannot rest yet,” Venom said, but his gaze longingly lingered on the blankets. “We should investigate this cave a little further, so we know for sure that we’re safe here.”
One of the yellow food packs slipped from his fingers as if to contradict his words.
I held out one of the blankets. “Wrap yourself into this and we’ll find a comfy place to camp. I think I’d like to stay close to where we came in, just in case.”
I scanned the crates scattered beneath the cave entrance.
One, almost reaching the top of the ledge, was on its side, creating a sort of cave within a cave.
With the way it was turned, it might shelter us from the cool draught that was licking at my skin, tempting me to take one of the blankets for myself.
“Over there.” I led Venom to the crate. He followed slowly, his movements no longer smooth and elegant. He was clearly struggling. Somehow, he managed to hold on to the remaining food parcels.
I spread one of the blankets over the metal floor, then pointed at it. “Sit.”
He raised a scaled brow. “Are you giving me orders?”
“Yes.”
Venom smirked. “Who am I to refuse. Females are always right, my mother used to say.”
As soon as he had curled up his tail around his body, making himself less of a target for the cold, I wrapped another blanket around him.
My hands touched his scales, and I paused for just a moment.
They were cool yet still held a lingering warmth that seeped into my skin.
The scales were softer than I’d thought.
Those sharp rocks outside must have been very uncomfortable for Venom.
I quickly pulled back and pretended that this hadn’t happened.
It was entirely inappropriate to be touching him.
I should keep my distance and hope he’d forget about all the strange things he’d mentioned at our first encounter.
I really preferred the head-in-the-sand method for the topic of mates and relationships and destiny.
I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders like a cloak. There was less of a draught in this crate, but it was still chilly.
Venom had crossed his arms in front of his chest, pulling his blankets tightly around his body.
Poor guy. I wished I could have started a fire, but there was neither wood nor matches.
Maybe some of the crates held useful items, but how long would it take to go through all of them?
We’d been lucky that the one holding the food pouches had been left unlocked.
“Tell me how to make this food,” I said, taking a seat opposite Venom. The blanket was surprisingly soft, even though it looked like it was made of grass. I wasn’t sure what kind of plant it had been woven from, but whatever it was, it protected us effectively from the cold metal floor.
Venom shot me strange look. “You shall not cook for me, mate. That is my job. I am to provide for you. Now and always.”
“Go easy on the mate talk,” I warned. “You said we’d discuss that after we’ve somehow escaped this planet.”
“Apologies. But the point stands. I will not let you demean yourself by offering me food. That is the male’s task.”
“On my planet, both men and women do the cooking. In the past, it was mostly the women, but nowadays, men have learned they are just as capable of handling a wooden spoon as their wives and mothers are.”
“What do they do with that wooden spoon?” Venom asked, sounding genuinely confused. I was about to answer when he grinned. “I am just teasing. Although I’m sure spoons have many uses.”
Was that an innuendo? Or was I interpreting something into an innocent comment?
To distract myself, I handed him one of the food pouches that had fallen to the ground. “How do you do this?”
Venom grimaced. “With great difficulty.”