The beauty of the night haunted them. Bioluminescence moss and vines crawled up the trees, pulsating like veins on a throbbing heart. The glow coated the five figures that stood in the darkness, among the blue fungi and shed skin. The centipede husk had vanished inside the cave.
"Alright, this has to be the location." Pavel tapped his watch. "It's close to all three infection spots, and it's where they took the husk."
"That means the fungi is in there somewhere." Ursus squeezed Eileen's hand. The pure amount of worry in his eyes earned a kiss of reassurance. "I'll be quick, remember?"
His hand held on, refusing to let go until the last moment. The night swallowed her whole. Her heart pounded against her chest as she crept up toward the cave opening.
Alright, Eileen. You can do this. She gazed into the darkness. You're an ER nurse for crying out loud. She prepared for mass casualties and quick actions all her life. She couldn't waste time panicking about what to do when people were bleeding out.
You can do this.
The dampness almost suffocated her. The rhythm glow of the fungi illuminated their host shadows among the walls. Don't make any noise. Pavel's words came back to her. They are attracted to sound. Silent, calculated steps moved her deeper into the centipede's stenches.
Suddenly, something cold brushed against her leg. Eileen's hands snapped to her mouth, stopping the muffled scream. Segments shifted. Thousands of rattlesnake sounding tails weaved in and out of each other around her.
Do not scream. Do not scream. Do not scream! As the land stilled, Eileen stepped over a centipede's tail end. A moist, rotten smell threatened to overpower her nose. As more shadows shifted, her nails dug into her skin. How much longer? Her vision blurred with tears of fear.
Another centipede shifted. She froze, waiting for its moving segments to still. That's when she noticed the soft blue glow through the crack. Wait, is that... Peeking through revealed thousands of giant mushrooms all pulsating like a heartbeat.
That has to be the fungi! Her hand traced the surface of the crack. It was just barely big enough for her. Teeth bit her bottom lip while debris caked her clothing. Other than a few rocks falling, she eased through with little difficulty.
Alright, I made it. Now all I have to do is light the fire. Lifting her foot, she froze when a shadow moved. Wrapped around one of the mushrooms was the largest centipede Eileen had ever seen.
At a staggering ten meters, it would devour her as a snack. Eileen swallowed. This is going to be harder than I thought.
Her hand brushed against the lighter in her pocket. Thanks to Pavel, she had five minutes to get out once she pressed the button. Ok. She inched forward. I can do this. This was nothing compared to a stormy night on the full moon.
Eileen pressed against the wall. The thumb lay against the switch while she shimmy closer to the mushrooms. The centipede's antenna twitched. Easy. Easy. With each step, the insect's organ twitched. Eileen's heart pounded in her ears. Come on!
Her hand brushed against one of the mushrooms. With a click, she dropped the lighter. Ok, go, go, go! Her eyes snapped to the crack. Her feet moved with urgency, closing the distance rapidly.
A rock under her feet bolted. Suddenly, she was weightless.
Thud! Her body hit the ground. The sounds of movement froze her solid. The shadow grew before her eyes, growing larger and larger as it towered over her. Mandibles parted, Eileen's screams rivaled its own. She hurled herself toward the crack.
Thunder echoed around her. Please! please! please! please! Her vision blurred. The crack was right there. She could practically feel the creature's breath. Please!
She squeezed through. A resounding thud cracked the wall. As more screeches sounded, pure survival instinct pushed Eileen forward. The centipedes thrashed and wrinkled, not yet awake enough to locate her.
Debris rained from the ceiling. A centipede moved in front of her, only for a boulder to come crashing down on top. Ignoring the splatter, Eileen kept pushing. "Ursus!" Her feet tripped.
Pain shot up her ankle. "Augh!" She yelped. Pushing herself up, her ankle collapsed under the weight. No! No! No! A screech snapped her gaze up to the towering centipede. "Ursus!" Her terrified reflection stared back at her in its maliced eyes. "Ursus!"
The centipede lunged.
"Ursus!"
A roar ripped through the cave. A figure slammed into the centipede, slamming the insect back into the others with a sickening crunch. Striking the ground, grooves dug into the dirt as the figure turned to her. Ursus's eyes were illuminated. In fact, his whole body seemed to be glowing. What is happening?
"Ursus?" Without a word, he had her up and onto his back.
Her hold tightened as he sprinted through the chaos. Eileen's heart lurched. How much time do we have left? More boulders fell from the ceilings, all dodged in a blink of an eye. The light of the forest grew brighter and brighter until...
"Ugh!" With one last push, he lunged. Rumbling snapped Eileen's gaze to the collapsed boulders behind. Air rushed out, the dust and debris knocking them forward. A yelp left her lips as she struck the ground. Arms wrapped around her protectively. "Ursus?" She whispered.
"Get them out of there!"
"Hurry, the bomb is going to blow in three, two-"
A boom cut off his words. The ground shook. Eileen cried out, causing Ursus' hold to tighten as debris pelted them. As she buried her face into his chest, her lungs wheezed. The last thing she remembered was his warmth.
YOU ARE READING
To The Ends of The Universe (ONC 2024 ✔)
Science Fiction"When just being alive makes you a target, you learn to keep your head low." Being a nurse in an ER clinic, Eileen never had much time for romance. Especially, when job and education often came before everything else she's ever known. That is until...
