Frontier Resistance by Leonie Rogers

Author:Leonie Rogers [Davidow, Shelley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Hague Publishing
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

THE rain finally stopped at the end of the following day, although it was almost dark before the deluge reduced to a misty sprinkle. From their shelter beneath the overhang, the four humans sat huddled around the glowing embers of their fire while Fractus took the watch. Shanna always enjoyed watching Fractus at these times; he became so still and quiet that he almost appeared to merge into the rock.

Slightly west of them was the entrance to the gorge, and from its depths the thundering rush of water could be heard. For Shanna, the wait until the rain had eased had seemed much longer than it actually had been, and with nothing to do she had had too much time to think. Much of the time she’d spent worrying about her family, wondering how they were, what Kaidan might be up to, and how her parents were coping. It seemed such a long time since she’d last seen them. As she’d sat on watch with Storm and Twister, watching the grey sky blend into the grey rain, she’d been hard pressed to push back the tears that threatened to flood her eyes. Her eyes had felt hot and full, and her throat ached. She’d remained facing outwards, staring resolutely into the watery day, while her emotions pushed unbearably at her.

Storm and Twister had sensed her distress, and had taken turns to tuck themselves under her arms. Their warm love had allowed her to regain her self-possession. Then the fear of the unknown had struck. What on earth was she doing, trekking through an unknown area of Below in search of an alien ship? She imagined her cats injured or killed by the Garsal, her friends vanishing one by one as the alien marauders attacked them, and she worried that she would be found wanting when they finally located the ship. They had talked quietly when not on watch, but the constant rain had seemed to affect them all, and the mood was sombre and quieter than normal. The enforced idleness in a time of need was frustrating, and Shanna was very glad when the rain lessened and the prospect of doing something – anything – was a reality again.

Barron laid out the plan of travel for the next day – a solid day’s travel southward, paralleling the Garsal track, while keeping an eye out for something high enough for Shanna to launch from. They sent their cats out to hunt in pairs, and with Cirrus providing a pair of marmals for roasting, the group made a good meal. “If we’re to make as much time as possible, we’ll need to work hard tomorrow,” said Barron. “But a day and a half’s rest isn’t a bad thing really. We’ll move faster and be more alert.”

“I wonder just how far we’ll end up going,” mused Verren. He took another piece of marmal and chewed contemplatively.

“Who knows, really,” replied Kalli. “Normally when we’re Below, we spend most of our time exploring thoroughly, so that we have a really good idea of the terrain and its flora and fauna.

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