Hello everyone, what did you think of the chapter? Please let me know in the comments. If you want to download the full book, it's available on my KO-FI page. The link is here. š
š¤©ko-fi.com/winterstar01/shopš¤©
The roar of the armored engines filled the small cavern, bouncing off the rock walls like thunder. We knew what it meant. They'd found us again. The brief truce in Rocky Passage, the ephemeral respite after the confrontation with the frozen rover, was over. Before us lay the dark, silent opening of the ancient tunnel, a black mouth that promised an uncertain escape into the bowels of 73P.
"Get in!" Kael exclaimed, without hesitation.
We jumped out of the exploration vehicle, which we'd abandoned in the cavern, its engine roaring uselessly against the imminent pursuit. We ran toward the tunnel opening, the darkness engulfing us. The sound of the security engines grew louder, and I heard the squeal of their tracks on the rock as they entered the cavern. They were right behind us.
We slipped into the tunnel, the air inside surprisingly still and smelling of dry, mineral earth, very different from the filtered air of the basement or the stale air of the service ducts. There was no metal on the walls, only pure rock, uneven and cold to the touch. The walls were rough, without the polishing or reinforcement of modern construction. This tunnel was ancient, excavated perhaps centuries, or even millennia, ago, by geological processes or by hands far older than Aqua-Sol's.
We moved quickly, pitch black except for the light from our flashlights. The tunnel descended gradually, a winding path in the living rock. The silence here was profound, a primordial silence broken only by our labored breathing and the muffled sound of our footsteps. The roar of the security engines quickly faded as we pressed deeper into the rock, the sound of our pursuers being left behind, swallowed by the mass of the moon.
"What is this place?" I whispered, my voice sounding strangely loud in the silence.
Hanson shone her flashlight on the walls, her scientific eyes observing the rock composition. "It looks like a natural formation, perhaps an ancient volcanic conduit. Or... it could have been modified. The marks on the walls... they're irregular. They don't look like they were made by modern drilling equipment."
Kael, who was ahead, stopped and pointed to the ground. "Traces. Not recent. But someone has been here."
We shone our light on the floor. There were faint marks in the dust, as if someone had dragged something heavy. And on the walls, at knee height, there were irregular abrasion marks, as if something or someone had rubbed against them repeatedly as they passed. The traces were ancient, covered by a fine layer of dust that indicated it had been a while since anyone had left them. Who had been here? Miners? Explorers? Or something else?
We continued descending, curiosity mixed with apprehension. The tunnel seemed to descend into the depths of the moon. The air gradually became denser, and the temperature, while still cold, felt less extreme than on the surface or in the upper passages.
We passed through areas where the tunnel widened into small natural caverns, filled with strange rock formations and crystals that glittered in the light from our flashlights. It was an unexplored subterranean world, a fascinating contrast to the sterile, functional environment of the Aqua-Sol base.
"There are no signs of Chimeric Compound contamination here," Hanson said, consulting the portable environmental sensors he carried with him. "The rock seems to act as an effective barrier."
That was a small victory. We were, at least for a while, safe from the poison that had spread through the surface and the upper ducts. But security, though delayed, would follow us if they found an entrance to the tunnel.
The tunnel continued descending for what seemed like an eternity. Time blurred in the constant darkness. We were tired, hungry, and filled with uncertainty. Where was this forgotten path leading us? Was there an exit at the end? Or did it only lead us deeper into a trap?
At one point, Kael stopped abruptly. "Listen," he whispered.
We stood still, straining our ears. At first, I heard only the sound of our own breathing. Then, a subtle sound, a distant drip, and... something else. A low, steady hum, different from the one at the base, but clearly artificial. It seemed to be coming from further down the tunnel.
We looked at each other, the same question in our eyes. Was it security? Some hidden installation? Or perhaps... something unexpected?
We moved forward with renewed caution, following the sound. The tunnel narrowed again, and the rock seemed different, darker, with visible metallic veins. The humming grew louder, more distinct.
We came to a section where the tunnel opened into a larger cavern. And in the center of the cavern, in the light of our flashlights, we saw a structure. It wasn't a natural formation. It was an ancient metal construction, covered in dust and showing signs of abandonment, but clearly man-made. It looked like some kind of station, or perhaps... an entrance to somewhere else. And the humming noise was coming from some ancient equipment inside the structure.
We stood at the edge of the cavern, staring down at the mysterious structure. It was a question mark in the darkness. What was this place? Who had built it? And more importantly, could it be our salvation, or a new, deeper layer of 73P's intrigue? The ancient tunnel had led us to an unexpected place, an echo of the past, or perhaps a secret held deep within the moon. The climax, far from ending the escape, drew us deeper into a new mystery in the forgotten roots of 73P. And the hum of the ancient structure seemed to be calling us toward an unknown destination.