CHAPTER 10
Things might have ended badly when a hole opened up underfoot sending Aquarius and Ishtar plummeting. Before he could brace for a hard impact—or try and grab the queen and beam them back to Tower—they hit water.
The liquid, with its sluggish current, kept them from shattering all their bones and, despite their gear, bobbed them like flotsam.
“Reece?”
Ishtar’s questioning tone had him treading while turning in the fluid. “I’m alive, but I can’t see shit.”
“Activate the lights on your helmet.” As she spoke, he spotted a glow several yards from him.
Rather than ask how, he lifted his wrist, the buttons on it glowing faintly.
He jabbed the yellow one—not the red, which she’d warned would peel him out of his safety gear.
To his relief, his helmet illuminated. The light showed them in an underground lazy river, deep enough he couldn’t touch bottom, but he could see a ledge running alongside the channel it had cut through the rock. Even better…
“Hell yeah, we found water.”
“I told you we had some,” her sour reply.
“I’m gonna take a sample,” he stated, trying to wriggle his knapsack off to grab a vial. It proved slightly more complicated than expected. Might be better if he swam to shore before he lost his entire kit.
“I can get you water in the citadel from some of our wells. We dug several early on in our apocalypse.”
As he opened his mouth to reply, something brushed by his leg. “Um, Queenie, didn’t you say everything on the planet died?”
“Everything on the surface, yes, but underground, it’s possible some things survived or adapted to their new reality.”
“Not reassuring,” he muttered as, once again, something slithered past his abdomen.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I don’t think we’re alone. Head to shore.” Taking his own advice, he began stroking for the ledge he could see running alongside the lazy river and got almost within grabbing distance when something yanked him under.
Thanks to the helmet, he didn’t have to panic.
For one, it remained sealed and providing air, meaning he wouldn’t drown.
Two, he could see, the lights and the visor giving him perfect vision, a fact he kind of hated a second later when he glanced down to see the serpentine tail wrapped around his calf.
Great. He’d found an underground Martian river snake. Like Indian Jones, he hated them, although, in his case, his came from trauma. Ever been crushed by a giant python? Not recommended, zero stars, the snapping of his ribs meant a full day of very painful healing in the Stardust Room.
“Reece! Reece! Where are you?” Her panicked voice came through loud and clear.
“Kind of busy,” he muttered, wishing he’d brought a weapon. No sword, no gun. Why would he have bothered? He’d only expected to be fighting cold, dust, and strong winds. He did have a tiny knife on his belt. Would it be enough?
“Is that your light underwater?”
“Yup.” He bent down and tried to pry the snake loose.
“What are you diving for? I thought you were heading to shore.”
“Now, I’m trying to not get eaten,” he grunted.
“By what?” she squeaked.
“Something out of a horror film,” he stated as a second serpent slithered past. He began slamming his unfettered leg against the snake wrapped around his calf, thumping it until it loosened.
He immediately began stroking for the surface, could even see the glimmer of Ishtar peering down seeking him, which meant he also saw the big serpentine body passing overhead.
And so did she.
“Oh dear. What is that?”
“Giant snake. Get away from the edge.” Because he didn’t know how far they might lunge.
Movement from the corner of his eye showed one of the monsters coming at him, and he treaded water best he could and readied himself. When it neared, mouth opening wide over milky eyes, he punched.
The startled snake shifted away from him, and he kept pulling upward until his head broke the surface.
“Behind you,” Ishtar yelled.
He spun, hands and feet moving to keep him afloat, and saw the spine of something tunneling.
Plop.
A rock hit the surface, and the scything fin angled to the left rather than at him.
“Take that and that.” Ishtar kept chucking rocks, disorienting the snakes, which gave him time to reach the shore and heave himself out.
He popped to his feet and dragged Ishtar away from the edge. “It’s okay. I’m good.”
“Your suit is undamaged?” She checked him over, seeking for signs of tears even as he reassured.
“I’m fine just a little shook because, honestly, didn’t expect that.”
“Me either.”
“Didn’t you just say some things might have survived underground?”
“I expected microbes or bugs, not freaking snakes!”
“Guess it’s not a bad thing. Means Mars isn’t as dead as you thought and we now know there’s water outside your wells.”
She snorted. “Not sure how that helps. This won’t be enough to refill our oceans.”
“No, but having some will help the world start growing things once I get the magnetic shield going again.”
“Only you would be thinking of that rather than the fact you almost died.”
“Bah. If things got dicey, I would have just beamed myself out of there.”
“You would have…” For some reason, she began hitting him and yelling. “You jerk. I was worried about you, and this entire time you could have saved yourself?”
“Hey, why are you mad?” He didn’t bother stopping her pummels. It wasn’t as if the blows hurt. Besides, he kind of liked the fact she gave a damn.
“I’m mad because I don’t want to see you die.”
“Aw, Queenie. I knew you cared.”
“More like I want you to keep your promise,” she muttered, turning away from him.
He smiled. “Admit it, I’m growing on you.”
“Like an itchy rash that won’t leave,” she grumbled.
“You can scratch anywhere and anytime you like,” he offered.
“Unbelievable,” she huffed, stalking away from him.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“To find a way out. Unlike you, I can’t ask a star god to beam me to safety.”
“You could ask me.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Because you hate asking for help.”
She whirled and presented him with a mighty glare. “I don’t need your help.”
“Don’t be mad, Queenie. I get it. You’ve been so used to going it alone that it’s tough to let someone in.
But here’s the thing, and I speak from experience, missions, life, everything, it’s a lot easier when you have someone you can trust, who has your back, who wants to see you succeed. Partners are a good, not bad, thing.”
“We are not partners. You just want to save your planet.”
“I do, but I also kind of want to fix yours as well.”
“Only because you want the secret for killing the Kukakk.”
“That’s only part of it. I also want to—” He would have said the sappiest thing in that moment if a damned snake didn’t rear up from the water and whip its open maw for Ishtar.
“Fucking asshole, can’t you see we’re having a discussion?” Aquarius yelled as he leaped, grabbed the head, and twisted it as he landed. Crunch. Something cracked, and the body went limp. He released it, and the snake slid back into the water.
A wide-eyed Ishtar just stared.
“I think we should leave,” he suggested.
She nodded. “I won’t disagree on that.”
They followed the shoreline back to the hole they’d fallen through, with them both keeping a sharp eye on the river. No snakes appeared. Maybe they’d learned their lesson. If not, he’d be back with a harpoon.
He glanced upward at the jagged hole then the walls around them.
“Got any rope?” he asked.
“Sure, I’ve got it tucked in my bra,” her sarcastic drawl.
He grinned. “Is that an invitation to grope you? Because I am totally willing.” He’d never been so bold with a woman and couldn’t have said where it came from.
Her eyes widened, and she had no reply.
He winked. Maybe this flirting thing wasn’t that hard. “Stick as close to the wall and far away from the water as you can. I’m going to climb up and fetch something I can use to pull you up.”
“The wall is practically sheer,” she pointed out.
“I’ve scaled worst. Hang tight for a few minutes.”
One thing he really liked about the Mars space suit was how flexible the gloves were, almost like being barehanded but with the protection he needed to not scrape his fingertips raw.
The trek upwards went quickly, his boots finding spots to grip, his hands constantly reaching and seeking for the next slight indent he could use to haul his ass.
Once he reached the crumbly ceiling it got a tad tricky, as he had to knock down some of the overhanging rock that would have crumbled as soon as he tried to put his weight on it.
He punched it until the wall he perched on had a direct line to the solid ground above.
Once he exited the hole, he ran for the citadel, a hulking monolith in the distance.
“Why are you huffing?” Ishtar asked, her voice as clear in his helmet as if she stood beside him.
“Running. The suit’s struggling to convert my exhalation into oxygen.”
“Because you’re not supposed to exert yourself.”
“Would you like me to slow down?”
A grumbled, “No,” was the reply.
“Where can I find rope?”
“The chamber we exited should have some in one of the storage cabinets.”
“Okay. Hold on. I’m almost there.”
He reached the citadel and slammed the door a few times before hitting the right spot that opened it. It took opening two cabinets before he located the coil of rope. With it in hand, he raced back for the hole.
“Any more snakes?” he asked to keep her talking.
“A few fins, but none that have dared come ashore since you killed their friend.”
He reached the hole in the ground and dropped to his belly. “I’m dropping down a line. I want you to loop it around your waist and I’ll haul you up.”
Within moments, Ishtar stood beside him, murmuring, “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I don’t know about you, but I think we’ve done enough exploring for the moment. Want to head back to the citadel?”
At her nod, they began trudging, and to his surprise, she had an unexpected question for him.
“Why do you keep pretending you’re interested in me as a sexual partner?”
“Who says its pretend?”
She paused. “Because we barely know each other.”
“And?”
“I’ve not been very nice.”
“I’ll admit you can be a bit prickly, but you know what they say, sometimes the prickliest fruit is the sweetest.” Besides, he understood why she acted the way she did.
Guilt could be a heavy burden to carry. His friend Leo had suffered from it and been the orneriest bastard for years on account of it.
“I’m not sweet.”
“Debatable. I’d have to kiss your lips to see if that’s true.”
She stopped walking and gaped, at a loss for words.
He could have pushed it, but instead, he resumed walking and tossed a casual, “Hey, just so you know, if you’re worried something like those snakes might have infiltrated the citadel, I’m more than willing to share a bed for protection.”
“The citadel is secure,” she grumbled, taking long strides to catch up, but as she passed him, she added, “And we’ll have to share because there’s only one mattress.”
Well damn. Now he was the one speechless, but his lips worked and they were smiling.
Maybe this Mars trip wouldn’t be a waste after all.