Starship Fall (Starship Seasons, #2)(14)

I tried to banish the treacherous thought as we dropped through the tunnel. Hawk hurried towards the arched entrance and the sacred chamber, no longer needing Qah to lead the way. We almost ran to catch up.

Nothing had changed in the cavern. Night or day had no effect here. The bonfires maintained a constant, ruddy light. Beside the long-house, the stretcher-bearers waited passively. We might have gone back in time to when we had first entered the sacred site, but for the collective fear and apprehension that gripped us as we approached the foot of the ramp.

We had an agonising fifteen minutes to wait before there was movement from within the long-house. Hawk was all for striding up the ramp and ending the agony, but something Qah said, a quick fluting command, stopped him. Maddie took his hand and Matt murmured a few consolatory words.

The tall priest emerged at the top of the ramp, stood to one side like a carved statue, and thumped his spear.

The sense of apprehension was almost tangible.

Seconds later the stretcher-bearers hurried up the ramp and ducked through the entrance. Half a minute later the first pair emerged, walking with dignity and care as they negotiated the opening with the laden stretcher. Hawk gave a moan as they moved down the ramp. I was beside him as the bearers passed us by, and we stared at the figure of the dead alien.

It was a young male, and I felt a sudden surge of relief, followed by a quick sense of guilt.

Beside Hawk, Matt squeezed his hand.

The stretcher-bearers unloaded their burden, laying the body reverently on a stone slab beside the long-house.

Hawk turned to Qah and spoke quickly. She replied, but could not bring herself to meet his eyes.

“Jesus,” Hawk said, turning to us as if in appeal. “There’s another three dead in there!”

Maddie said, “Can’t you ask her if she knows whether…?”

Hawk shook his head. “I asked. She says she isn’t allowed to enquire.”

I knew, then, with an odd, cold certainty, that Kee would be among the dead, and I thought ahead to how we might be able to help Hawk through his time of grief. Hard upon that thought came the recollection of my own loss, six years ago, and a selfish part of me did not want to be reminded of that all over again.

There was movement in the shadows of the entrance. The next stretcher-bearers emerged. This time, I saw, the dead alien was that of a young female. I shut my eyes, feeling tears start, hot and raw.

I heard the sound of feet on the giving timbers of the ramp, and could not keep my eyes closed. I stared into the fair, beautiful features of the girl, serene in death, as she was carried past.

It was not Kee. Beside me, Hawk was weeping with a mixture, I guessed, of relief and terrible apprehension.

I wondered if fate was being cruel to him, prolonging his torment until the time the stretcher-bearers brought out the body of his beloved. Matt and Maddie were beside Hawk. I joined them, not wanting to be alone in any of this, and took Hawk’s shoulder.

Movement in the long-house’s entrance. The bearers stepped from the shadows. I felt the beat of my heart, thudding against my ribs. I heard Matt muttering something beside me, maybe a prayer. We stepped forward as one as the bearers came down the ramp.

The body was male, and I closed my eyes and squeezed Hawk’s shoulder.

One more to go...

This is it, I thought. This is the terrible moment when everything is changed for ever.

My grip on Hawk became tighter. Matt and Maddie held him. We would be with Hawk when he beheld the fate of Kee, and we would help him through the dark days ahead.

He let out a pained breath as the stretcher-bearers came into sight at the top of the ramp. They negotiated the ramp, slowly. I stared at the slight figure they carried. It was female, and golden, and beautiful, and it came to me what a farce this was, this slaughter of innocents all in the name of some inane alien religion.

And beside me Hawk gave a sob and collapsed again Matt, and I stared into the serene features of the girl as she was carried past us.

It was not Kee.

* * *

Minutes later the survivors appeared. Kee was the third person down the ramp. She and Hawk came together into each other’s arms with a sudden rush, as if magnetised. They held on to each other, rocking back and forth, for a long time.

I glanced across at Matt and Maddie, who were crying unashamedly, and I realised that I too was weeping with relief.

Kee disengaged and came first to Maddie and embraced her quickly, and then to Matt. She hurried over to me and smiled, and I thought I saw something in her eyes, a desire to say something, perhaps explain herself. She gave me a swift hug and returned to Hawk, who back-handed tears from his cheeks and said, “Okay, let’s get the hell out of here.”

He paused then and looked back at the long-house, at the tall figure of the Ashentay priest, who appeared to be staring down at us. I thought, for a second, that Hawk intended to approach the priest, or at least say something to him, but if so the moment passed and he turned and joined us.

We left the sacred cavern and climbed the tunnel to the surface of the planet. Sunlight dazzled us as we emerged behind the curtain of the waterfall and crossed to our encampment. We stowed our belongings, shouldered our packs, and began the long walk through the jungle to where we had left the bison.

Qah led the way, followed by Hawk and Kee who walked hand in hand through the undergrowth.

We reached the bison towards midday, and Matt volunteered to drive. He turned the bison from the felled trunks and manoeuvred it in the direction of the alien village. We set off, the vehicle rocking.