Page 34 of The Lone Cyborg
“I suppose I like knowing where you are as well—but promise you’ll stay behind me.”
“I promise.”
When Sylvester flew over and hopped up on her shoulder, he didn’t argue about that either. Leaving Trojan on guard at the entrance, the three of them cautiously entered the lava tube. They paused there while he did a quick check, listening for any sign of movement. He couldn’t detect anything and pulled out his scanner, then frowned at the readings.
“That’s odd.”
“What is?”
“The new mineral isn’t showing up any more. It’s as if it vanished.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“That’s not possible.”
“Normally I would agree with you, but remember the way it moved?”
“As if it were alive,” she said slowly. “Do you think it withdrew back to the cavern?”
“I think it’s possible. I can’t think of any other explanation.”
“And you’re sure the scanner is working properly?”
“Yes, everything else is showing up. If anything it looks like the lithium deposits are even richer than you indicated.”
She sighed.
“I suppose mining for lithium is more practical than dealing with an unknown substance.”
“And safer,” he added dryly. “At least for the present. Why don’t we take a look at the damage and go from there?”
She nodded and he led the way deeper into the tunnel. They’d followed their previous route down several branches before she came to an abrupt halt.
“Look,” she whispered when he turned around and gave her an inquiring look.
“What do you want me to look at?”
“Nothing. I mean that’s the point—all the traces of your blood have vanished.” He frowned down at the floor but she was right, nothing remained but dust and sand and rock. “There was no lichen up here to absorb it, so where did it go?”
“Maybe the lichen followed the trail from the cavern.”
The explanation didn’t sound very convincing, even to himself, but he couldn’t think of an alternative. She shivered and took a step closer, tucking her hand in his. He put his arm around her as they traveled deeper underground until they came to the site of the explosion. A massive pile of rock and debris completely blocked the tunnel.
“It worked,” he said quietly.
“What about those men? Did they get caught in the cave-in?”
He focused his scanner on the blockage, then nodded.
“I think so. I don’t see any signs of life on the scanner, and that blockage goes back a long way. I’ll see what I can do, but I doubt we’ll be able to return to the cavern.”
“I suppose that’s a small price to pay for our safety.”
She smiled at him, then gave his hand a gentle tug.
“Let’s go home.”
Home.
