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A QUICK SCAN OF THE area led Silhouette to the opposite side of the turbid water where she found indications of a struggle. A muddy path had been carved through a patch of dead moss by a large, slithering beast. The creature had pulled itself out of the water and into the forest where it appeared as if the thing had dragged Fukumura, leaving bits of torn cloth and long strands of the woman’s dark hair along the flattened trail. Old plant life had been ripped from the ground, roots and all, and the Doctor had clawed into the dirt, doing all she could to resist her fate.
Silhouette tracked the monster into the leafless woods, scanning with her Ocu for any signs of life. Gobs of sap clung to the tree trunks and more had been pressed into the compacted dirt. Silhouette found a fingernail next to an exposed root, then she spotted Fukumura’s broken glasses a few paces away from it.
The combination of heat and silence unsettled Silhouette— the two didn’t normally go together, but the wind had faded and all that was left to hear were her own footsteps. There were no singing birds, no buzzing bugs, no nothing to give her a sense of being, of existence. It was as if time had stopped all around her.
Farther down the trail had split into numerous tangents, each one meandering through the trees to some unseen destination, making it difficult for Silhouette to keep track of Fukumura’s specific path. The ground softened as she stalked after the slug creature, each step she took sinking deeper into the mud than the last.
All remnants of underbrush had been left behind as the forest opened up around a rocky hillside. The mud had deepened to the point that Silhouette was now following a trench through the slush, one that led right between the large boulders at the bottom of the hill in front of her.
Hidden behind the rocky exterior was a cave, and it would have been near undetectable at a glance if it weren’t for the slug road that led right to it. A warm wind pulsed out from inside of the cave, warmer and stickier than the already muggy atmosphere. Carried along the cave’s breath was more of the fine yellow dust that had clumped together and fallen in flakes from the sky, peppering the landscape of Thuun.
She didn’t know when it had started, but Silhouette now realized that the dead silence was gone. It had been replaced by a low, constant grumble. The sound was distant— unobtrusive in the way that an ocean’s crashing waves are but white noise to a lifelong coastal dweller.
A headache nibbled deep within Silhouette’s mind. It felt like a needle had suddenly manifested within her skull and was being pulled toward her forehead by a magnet. I don’t want to be here. Why did the Presider have to send me all the way out to this stupid planet.
She wanted to turn back, but the mission would be complete as soon as she found out what had caused the complications at the colonization facility. Within this cave was an answer. She was sure of it. It looks like whatever grabbed Fukumura wasn’t a Daemon. Folami was wrong.
Silhouette stepped inside the cavern, the hot pulses of air pushing past her body. The cave walls were rounded. It was deep and dark. Her Ocu’s night-vision became less effective as she walked farther into the depths, all sources of light vanishing into the darkness. It didn’t take long for everything to turn pitch black, rendering her infrared sight useless, so she flipped the mental switch to activate the Ocu’s echo-vision.
To Silhouette’s enhanced eye the cavern around her became a tube of energy waves. She could see her own feet as they squashed into the cave’s muddy floor, their white ripples of energy spreading across the cave walls, fading into a deepening blue as the energy spread and dissipated. The low grumble of the far-off source gave the entire space an indigo radiance. The resulting luminosity was enough for Silhouette to see the underground tunnel’s form, its dull brightness similar to walking along a dark country road on a cloudy night.
More tunnels opened in various directions. Any traceable pathway had disappeared into the mire that was this underground labyrinth as Silhouette continued onward. She lost track of time in the darkness, in the solitude, and felt an exhaustion sweep over her body.
Trudging through the swampy cavern became a tedious struggle, one that had lost Silhouette’s attention as her thoughts wandered home, centering on her apodment. Her body continued moving forward, but her mind was elsewhere under a cozy blanket, snuggled up with a mountain of pillows on her sofa, dozing in and out of pleasant dreams. Music was playing, its rhythm soft and slow. She could smell something roasting in the oven, something that was covered in spices; whatever it was would be warm and juicy. She couldn’t wait to grab a bite of it.
Silhouette rolled over to adjust herself and accidentally slipped off the edge of the couch. Her body was pumped full of adrenaline as she braced for impact with the carpeted floor.
Splat.
She woke up face first in the cavern muck.
Hopelessness, dread. Her psyche was not prepared to return to this place. Her headache stung with more intensity as she stood up, the head rush exacerbating the feeling. She looked at her surroundings and realized that she had no idea where she was, or how far she had gone. There were several tunnels leading off in different directions. Her footsteps had been swallowed by the wet mud. She had lost all hope of finding Fukumura’s trail, but she didn’t care about that anymore.
Fear struck her heart. It sank in a panic.
I shouldn’t be here. I should run. But where?
This planet doesn’t want me here.
The Krajova Team doesn’t want me here.
Why would Folami do this to me? Does she want to get rid of me?
The ache had spread throughout her brain like mold.
Deeper. Darker. That’s all I want.
No! Find the surface! Go home!
Silhouette lowered herself and crawled toward one of the tunnels. She felt the air getting heavier, the cave becoming more moist. It was as if her lungs were filling with water.
Focus on this mission. I need to find out what’s down here before I go home. I can’t leave yet.
Failure will mean my end. I’ll be useless, abandoned, forgotten.
Can’t give up. Can’t fail the Presider.
She crawled forward, the cavern widening before her, causing Silhouette to feel as if she were shrinking. Her progress slowed until she could not pull herself through the grime any longer. The pain in her mind was suffocating. The pressure was too much.
The pill.
She felt for the lump at the side of her neck.
Dammit. How could I forget about that.
Silhouette peeled back the turtleneck of her shadowsuit and retrieved the atmospheric stabilizer capsule she had kept there. She lifted her mask and ripped the package open with her teeth, then popped the sweet-tasting pill into her mouth and swallowed it.
She tossed the packaging away and adjusted her suit, then pulled herself into a fetal position as the pain of the pill’s effects kicked in. Her body trembled under the pressure. She groaned uncontrollably.
Then her body went still and her mind silent.