the future held for CeCe and me, nor for the others or my Theraxl people, but if I had any say in matters, I would propose significant changes to ikthekal helmets. I found their obscurity in reading facial expressions to be problematic, to say the least. I envied my brothers whose mates wore clear-visored helmets and through which they could observe the transient emotions of their lovers, their fleeting glances and subtle nuances.
Stripped of these, CeCe and I were forced to use words only, and accompanied by the external forces that funneled us toward danger, our conversations—our tenuous beginnings—were crippled.
I could only guess her thoughts as we faced one another and waited for the others.
Our company arrived in breathless gasps as the humans rested hands upon knees and exclaimed at my hunters’ bruising pace.
They wouldn’t see my wry smile or the pride shining in my eyes for CeCe, and I conceded it may be my helmet’s only benefit.
“What is that huge black opening?” Amity asked. “Is that our entrance? That’s our entrance, isn’t it? Why is it always the darkest, scariest thing? Why can’t it be the well-lit pathway with rainbows and butterflies for once?”
“You’ve seen the butterflies, Amity,” Esra said. “Be careful what you wish for.”
“Fair point,” Amity replied. “But at least the spider-butterflies don’t also have scorpion stingers and a taste for blood.”
“No, that would be the pretty trees,” Pattee said.
“Those trees are beautiful,” Joan agreed. “Too bad about the smell.”
“It is but the smell of death,” Hivelt said. “And Ikthe is ripe with it.”
“If peril had a smell,” Esra muttered.
I approached the opening to the last tunnel before we reached the havabuthe but before I walked in, I turned to face the others.
“According to my maps, traversing this tunnel will require two zatiks, though it is but two-hundred veltiks’ distance to the havabuthe,” I said. “Consisting of vertical shafts and steep drop-offs, it behooves us to move with care and watch out for one another as well as for ourselves. VELMA sent my robot ahead, and it will have bolted anchors and run lines where possible.”
“What are the chances the quakes have altered the routes?” Joan asked.
“High,” I said. My reply was met with silence.
CeCe clapped her hands together.
“Alright then,” she said. “Let’s get this party started!”
Cocking my head, I stared at her. There was no hint of sarcasm, yet her words suggested the impending celebration of festivities. The other women shot fists into the air and gave battle cries then filed into the dark maw without trepidation.
I hoped we had countless years to spend together, because I suspected it would take that long to understand these phenomenal but odd humans.
My brethren followed, slapping me on the back as they passed, and I shook my head as I tailed them into the abyss.