The Game Warden's Mate by A.M. Griffin

Author:A.M. Griffin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: science fiction, sci-fi, Romance, alien mate, alien
Publisher: Three Twenty-One, LLC
Published: 2019-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

ESME HAD FIVE HIDING spots to choose from. There was a tight pit hidden next to a sprawling green and orange bush. If she crawled in feet first, she had just enough room to turn around, but couldn’t do much else. There was a cave that could’ve easily fit twenty people with plenty of room to spare. But it was massive, too large, cold and drafty.

A quick inspection revealed many entrances and exits. She wouldn’t feel cornered, but she also didn’t like the idea of hunters coming in through any of those entrances. She found a crevice between two rocks on a sloped part of a hill. It had one way in and one way out but only allowed her to sit comfortably. There was another pit that allowed her to be comfortable, and it was well hidden, but the rank smell and clumps of fur were dead giveaways that she would have a roommate.

The last she’d found by pure accident. She’d been trying to climb a tree to get to the next ridge when her foot had slipped. Instead of her foot hitting the side of the mountain, it had gone through a hidden opening. Curious, she dropped to her hands and knees and crawled through a tight tunnel, reaching a cavernous opening.

“It’s dark. I can’t see anything,” Esme whispered.

“Call for firesticks.”

Esme pushed the now illuminated icon on her comlink. Seconds later, a ball popped to the surface. She opened it and activated the firesticks.

“You can call for as many as you need,” Xrez said. “Since it’s so cold here, the firesticks are unlimited. Unfortunately, you won’t have this same luxury in Level Three.”

After pushing the icon a few more times, she placed the firesticks around the cave until it was well lit.

The selling point on the cave wasn’t just the hidden access, but the shallow underground hot spring and the dirt ground. She could finally take a bath, and she could call a pod in an emergency. The choice was easy. The cave was larger than the one her and Payton had stayed in, but still small enough so that the heat rising from the hot spring kept the space warm enough for her to take off her coat and feel comfortable.

She dropped her purse on top of the folded coat, then, with hands-on hips, took another look around. The walls were made of a mix of dirt and stone, and guessing from the distance they’d crawled to get inside the cave. She could talk without worrying about her voice carrying to the outside.

“So, this is the place I’m calling home until I progress to Level Three.”

Xrez smacked the wall and nodded when he heard a dull thump in return. “It’s well insulated. You’ll stay warm. You should also keep the other places we’ve seen today in mind just in case you’re caught out in the open and can’t reach this one in time to hide.”

“But that might be a moot point anyway. If I’m caught out there and can’t get back, I’ll have to transport myself away.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.