by S. J. Bryant
Nova shook her head. "I didn't come in on any lift. There were stairs."
"Stairs? I haven't seen any stairs."
"Looks like they sent us through different entrances..."
"That's a lot of effort for someone to go through."
Nova nodded. "And why? What's the point?"
"So we don't run into each other? I guess it makes it a fair competition. Until now of course, because the two of us together will be unstoppable."
"And what makes you think I'd team up with you?" Nova asked with a smile.
"I figured saving your life, again, would be enough."
"Hmm, I suppose that counts for something. But we make it an equal split on the reward."
"Deal."
"Excellent." Nova let her eyes fall closed for a few seconds. "And Aart?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"You're always welcome," Aart said, tossing the last of the biscuit into his mouth. "This plant, what did it look like?"
"It was kind of purple with –"
"Welcome Bounty Hunters," a booming voice echoed through the tunnel, reverberating and surrounding them.
"What the hell?" Aart said.
Nova's eyes widened. She lifted her gun from her lap and held it ready. The voice had come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was a deep all-encompassing noise, echoing out of the very walls themselves.
"I'm glad to see so many of you survived day one," the voice said, followed by hollow laughter.
Aart leapt to his feet and turned in a tight circle. "Who the hell are you?"
"You can call me the Watcher," the voice replied.
Nova sat up straighter. Whoever it was had heard them, and could probably see them as well. Were they lurking in the shadows or were their hidden cameras in these catacombs?
"What the hell do you want, Watcher, and why don't you show yourself?"
"I'm afraid I don't have to answer your questions, Artemis Goldson. Now down to business. Three of your companions died today, a few of you came close to joining them, but overall eleven of you survived. Congratulations on making it this far. You see there is far more at stake here than an ancient statue."
"You're not making any sense," Aart said.
"I think it's clear. This is about you Hunters... proving your worth and your ability to survive. You're competing for your lives. I hope you enjoy the presents I've left around for you."
Aart turned to Nova and they stared into one-another's eyes. There was always the risk in their line of work that a client would turn sour. The job could always be a fake, a set up, but there were measures in place to protect the Hunters from these kinds of things. They always told someone where they were going, they kept in contact range at all times, their AI ships would be within calling distance, and they would vet the client.
Nova's mind raced over the checklist, where had they failed? With a sinking feeling which made her want to wretch all over the floor she realised they'd failed on every count. They'd told each other where they were going, but then they were both here. It was possible Tanguin had seen enough of the job description to know, but she wouldn't be worried about them because they were supposed to be together.
With the technology restrictions, Nova had given up her communicator. There was no way for her to talk to the outside world except with her brain chip, and she couldn't even reach Cal or Crusader. What about the client? Who had vetted the client?
Aart's face turned as pale as Nova's. His mouth hung open and he stared at her with a mixture of horror and fear. No one had vetted him, it was a basic job and there was going to be a group of Hunters. Where was the danger in that?
Nova slammed her fist into the ground. "Shit!"
The movement pulled at the flesh on her stomach and she winced under the pain.
"We didn't follow procedure," Aart whispered.
"Idiots."
"Damned fools."
"Don't be too harsh on yourselves," the Watcher said, "After all, you all made the same mistake."
Silence filled the tunnels.
"Good luck," the Watcher said, his voice fading.
Aart slumped down next to Nova. He kept his gun on his lap and his eyes scanned the tunnel.
"Trust us to get lured into a job for a nutcase," Nova said, trying to distract herself from the new pain in her side.
"Nutcase is right."
Nova closed her eyes. "I wonder what else he's put down here. I do not want to come across another one of those plants."
"If that's what you ran into on the first day, imagine what he might have planned for tomorrow?"
"Was there a map at your entrance?" Nova asked.
"Yeah, I was heading towards the central chamber; it had a diamond drawn on it."
"Mine was the same. Do you think we can get back out? We could just leave the planet and the nutcase behind."
"I'm afraid not," said Aart.
"What do you mean?" Nova said with a frown. Aart was an idiot to still be thinking of the monetary prize. If she knew anything about the sociopaths of the universe, this man wouldn't let them go, even if they did find the statue.
"I mean I went back to the exit to see if I could smuggle extra supplies in or something. The lift was gone."
"What?"
"Just like I said. The lift went up without me and there was no way to call it down again. I would bet two hundred credits that yours was the same."
"Mine didn't have a lift."
Aart shrugged. "Then the entrance will be filled with rocks or something."
Nova bit her lip. "We have to at least go back and check. If there's a quick way out of here, we have to find it."
Aart sighed. "You're right. Do you feel well enough to walk?"
Nova nodded. "As long as we don't run into any plants."
They stumbled back down the tunnel, Aart supporting most of Nova's weight, past the dead body and into the chamber with the blue spiral. Ash piled on the floor amidst spatters of blood.
Aart gave a low whistle. "Looks like a major battle."
Nova nodded, barely glancing at the pile of ash. "Not something I want to do again anytime soon."
On the other side she guided them through the catacombs back to the intersection with the map and then back up the tunnel to the entrance.
As they drew closer Nova's stomach sunk until it lay like a weight in the bottom of her abdomen. No welcoming light spilled through the tunnel entrance, only darkness. At the end, the light from their glowballs fell across a tumble of thick rocks, too big for them to move or blast away.
Nova's jaw clenched. "He's trapped us down here."
"Yep. Bastard."
Aart lowered her onto a boulder where she let out a long breath.
"When I find him, I'm going to tear out his stomach and see how he likes it."
"Ah yes, but first we'll have to find him," Aart said.
"Did you smuggle anything else useful?"
"It's all useful. But is it able to help us at this exact second? No."
Nova squeezed her side and drew a ragged breath.
"We should rest here," Aart said, frowning down at her.
Nova nodded. "It hurts like hell, even if this bandage of yours is working miracles."
"I'll take first watch."
"Good," Nova said, sliding to the floor. She kept her hand locked around the gun in her lap. "Oh, and Aart?" She opened one eye.
"Yes?" he said, glancing back at her.
"Remember that some of the Hunters will take this more seriously than you. They won't be afraid to kill us if it means meeting this madman's conditions and saving their own skins."
"Oh, Nova; always thinking the worst of people," Aart said, shaking his head.
Nova closed her eyes. "It's let me survive this long.."
"I know," Aart said, his voice dropping to a more serious tone. "I'll keep an eye out."
Nova nodded and let herself fall asleep. She felt as if she'd spent the whole day sleeping a
nd yet she drifted back down into darkness as soon as her eyes slipped closed.
CHAPTER FIVE
"Hey. Nova?" Aart said. He knelt over her, his face right next to hers.
"What? What is it." Nova sat bolt upright and lifted her gun, scanning the tunnels.
"Whoa. No nothing. I was just hoping you could keep watch for a couple of hours. If I try to do it any longer I'll just fall asleep. Then what good will I be?"
"About the same as normal," Nova said with a smile.
"Oh, haha. How's your stomach feeling?"
He leaned in close with his glowball and studied Nova's side. He lifted the bandage to reveal the wound beneath. There was still a hole where the vine had pierced through, but the blood and pus were gone. The black lines of poison had also disappeared.
"I'll stitch that up tomorrow," he said.
"Yeah. Alright sleepy head, go on and get some rest, I'll keep watch."
"You can handle it?"
Nova grinned. "Better than you I'd warrant."
"Yeah, alright."
He lay down on the dirt and used his pack as a pillow. Three minutes later he was fast asleep and snoring like a Hassard camel.
Nova turned her attention to the tunnels. They were just as dark as they had been when she went to sleep, with no sign of life in either direction. Not even the air moved this far underground, it hung stale and stagnant. If Aart was right and all the exits had been closed, then hopefully there was enough oxygen to go around. How many of them did the Watcher say were left? Eleven?
Why put out a job and summon them all just to kill them? As far as she could remember, Nova hadn't offended any sociopaths; at least not recently. So it wasn't personal, but then, why do it? Was it just one sociopath letting his madness loose on the world? Probably.
Nova waited for three hours, keeping watch, but nothing happened. The tunnel remained dark and the air remained still.
She laid a hand on Aart's shoulder and his eyes flew open.
"Time to rise and shine," she said.
"Already?" He sat up and rolled his head from side to side, rubbing his neck.
"Yeah, pass my bag? I'm starving."
Aart handed over the brown satchel and Nova rummaged through. She pulled out a nutrient bar and broke it in half. She handed one piece to Aart and chewed on the other. It had a pleasant fruity taste, a welcome change to the dry sand that had coated her tongue since she entered the tunnels.
Strength flooded her muscles with every bite. The ration bars were specially formulated to contain every piece of nutrition a person could need. You could survive your whole life on the simple snacks. Nova wouldn't dream of it though; life would be boring without cereal or chips!
Aart swallowed the last of his nutrient bar and rummaged in his own bag. He pulled out a sharp needle and a strong piece of wiry thread.
"I'm afraid we're going to have to do this the old fashioned way," he said.
"What? You brought a broad-spectrum anti-venom but no New-Skin-O?" Nova hissed.
Aart shrugged. "Border security found the New-Skin-O, this is the best I can do."
"Got any pain meds?"
"Yes, but I don't think you should take anything, you need to be at your best. In case we run into any more of your purple plants."
"You've got to at least give me some Parapem or I'm more likely to kill you than the plant."
Aart chuckled. "Okay fine, here you go."
He handed her a pack of thin blue squares. Nova picked the top one off the pile and laid it on her tongue. The numbing agent spread up through her mouth with a chilling tingling sensation. It moved to her cheeks, then her head and finally down through the rest of her body. It went to her stomach and the aching pain faded away.
"Alright, let's get it over with," Aart said.
He threaded the wire through the needle and tied the end firm. He pulled Nova's shirt up to reveal the wound and bent over it with his glowball by her side. He slid the needle into one side of the wound and threaded it through. He pulled each stitch tight so that the skin drew closed.
Through the Parapem Nova felt only the barest sting as he inserted the needle. It was almost like watching the operation be performed on someone else. She gaped as the two flaps of skin pulled together. The living flesh behaved just like torn fabric.
By the time Aart finished, the gaping wound was reduced to a single line with eight neat stitches holding it closed. He tied off the end and put the needle and remaining wire back into his bag along with the box of Parapem.
"Alright, now no more complaining out of you," he said with mock sternness.
She flicked her hand across her forehead. "Yes, sir."
She pulled her belongings into her bag and put her gun into her holster. With Aart's help she struggled to her feet. The skin stretched around the stitches and elicited a pang of pain but that was all. She wasn't looking forward to the Parapem wearing off, but she'd had worse injuries in her time.
"I guess we retrace our steps and keep heading towards the central chamber," Aart said.
Nova leaned one hand against the sandstone wall. She thought back to the day before, through the haze of agony which had coloured the afternoon. "I guess we don't have much choice."
"Alright, let's get moving. Keep your eyes and ears peeled."
Nova nodded and shuffled down the dark passageway. Their glowballs didn't reach far in the deep tunnels and the darkness pressed in on them. She tried not to think about the predators that might be lurking just outside their circle of light.
They walked for some time through the semi-darkness, passing through the chamber with the blue spiral, and past the dead body. They kept conversation to a minimum, their senses focused on any threats. They made good time through the meandering tunnels.
"What the—" Aart said. He strode in front while Nova kept an eye on their tail.
"What is it?" Nova said, stepping forward.
She frowned. They had come to a dead end. She put her hand against the wall but there was no way they could push through.
"Listen!" Aart said, grabbing hold of Nova's arm.
She stopped moving and strained her ears. Something ticked. It was very faint, distant, but it was there. It was getting faster, blurring into one continuous whir.
BANG.
Right behind Nova and Aart a sandstone block dropped down from the ceiling and blocked the tunnel through which they'd come, trapping them.
Nova's heart leapt in her chest and she spun, hands running along the rough walls.
The whirring continued.
"The walls are getting closer!" Aart said, slamming his palms against the sandstone.
Heat flooded Nova's body and she pushed against the opposite wall but it did no good. The blocks closed in towards them, threatening to crush them to fine jelly.
"Oh, hell no," Aart said.
Nova's braced her hands against the walls. "Look up!"
The air felt different in this small section and now she knew why. The sandstone roof was gone. Instead, open air stretched above them, disappearing into darkness far above their heads.
The walls were only two metres apart now. Aart and Nova stood back to back, chests heaving. She pushed against the moving blocks but couldn't stop them.
"I don't suppose you brought a grav lift?" Nova said through clenched teeth as she strained to hold the wall at bay.
"I'm afraid not. We're going to have to climb. Back to back like when we were trapped in that jail on Blakgar."
Nova groaned. "That's a pain in the arse."
"I'm open to alternatives but you better think quick."
The walls drew closer.
"Dammit, let's do it," Nova said.
She pushed her back against Aart's and they locked elbows. They pushed against one another with the power in their legs. Nova put one foot against the advancing stone and Aart put his foot on the opposite wall. With painful, agonising steps, they inched upwards.
Nova stretched up and the stitches holdin
g her side together burst open, sending fire up her stomach. Her wound gaped and new blood seeped through to stain her shirt. She clenched her teeth. Better a small stab wound than to be crushed.
The two Hunters fell into a rhythm, one foot after the other. They pushed hard against one another, using the other for support as they worked their way up.
Nova's back and neck ached and her legs shook with exhaustion, threatening to drop both her and Aart down to the bottom of the shaft.
"We have to stop," Aart said between gasps.
"We can't," Nova said, taking another step. "If we wait much longer the walls will be too close and we won't be able to climb."
Aart hoisted another leg up, but sweat coated his skin and his wet arms slipped against Nova's. "Just a second."
Nova's breath rasped, but she stopped climbing. Dryness filled her throat as the walls pushed closer. Already her knees were bent, costing her strength and stamina. She drew a sharp breath to tell Aart to move when something scraped against stone and he cried out.
She turned to see a thick wooden spike jutting out of the wall an inch to Aart's right. A thin cut marked his thigh and dribbled blood.
Another sharp scrape.
"Move!" Nova tugged Aart's arms and stepped upwards.
He followed, legs shaking. A moment later a second stake shot out of the wall and pierced the air where Nova's chest had been.
Nova stepped again. "Move!"
They strained against each other, climbing the thinning tunnel as fast as they could as more spikes filled the air below them.
"There's a ledge," Aart said. His words choked out of his mouth as he gasped for more air. His body shook against Nova's as they both strained to stay up.
Nova lifted her head and saw it. The wall against which her feet were pressed disappeared into darkness, another tunnel, with the same on Aart's side. The sight gave her new hope and her legs strengthened for the final few metres. She lifted her left leg up and Aart did the same. Then her right until they were both at the very lip of the ledge.
"How the hell are we going to do this one?" Nova asked.
"Good question. But we don't have time to work it out."
A spike thrust out of the wall just below them as if to underscore his words.