Page 31 of Solar Bound
Marvin began pulling items from his bag and piling them next to Pete on the center console. Tiny liquor bottles clanked.
“Oo, refreshments!” one of the guys in the back seat reached over and grabbed a couple of bottles.
Next came packages of cookies.
“Dammit, Marv, this is serious! Did you go to the right room?” Pete yelled, even though his voice carried easily over the van’s interior.
Marvin reached to pull the cookies back. Pete quickly snatched them and put them on his lap. “I’ll take those.”
“I got the good stuff,” Marvin insisted. He pulled out a small device that looked to be alien tech.
Dani snatched it from him. “What are you doing with that? That’s not yours.”
“Keeping it out of the wrong hands,” Marvin said defensively.
“Give her the goods,” Pete ordered.
“That’s what I was trying to do before you started yelling at me,” Marvin defended. “I got in there before those super soldiers had a chance to get back. But I also couldn’t let all those little bottles go to waste. We can sell them online. Booty straight from the aliens’ room! I had to get the extra supplies out?—”
“Let me see.” Dani snatched the bag from him and looked inside. More tech devices were there, along with a black stone. “Good job, Marvin. This is great work. Very helpful.”
Marvin grinned. “Did you hear that? I did great work. Saved the day, I did! Make sure you spell my name right for the record, Pete.”
Dani wasn't sure she believed in crystal energy, but right now, she'd take any help she could get. A week ago, she didn't believe she'd ever meet an alien. Her hand closed around what she thought was a black stone. She felt a soft vibration, and it was pliable against her palm. This wasn’t a normal rock.
"Almost there," Pete announced as the van bounced over ruts in the trail.
Another distant boom shook the ground, stronger than the first. Dani's knuckles whitened as she gripped the dashboard. "What's happening in there?"
"Either Milano brought explosives," Pete replied grimly, "or your alien friends are putting up one hell of a fight."
The van lurched to a stop at a small clearing surrounded by twisted junipers. A narrow path led toward the red rock face, where a dark opening was barely visible behind scrub brush.
"Cavern's back there," Pete said. "Connects to the main system. If they're following the water channels, they'll come out here or at Twisted Point about half a mile north."
Dani was out of the van before he finished speaking, pulling off the cumbersome alien costume. "I need to go in."
"Whoa, bad idea," Pete warned. "Those caves are a maze unless you know them. And after those explosions, there could be collapse points."
"I don't care," Dani said, her voice steady despite the fear churning inside her. "Solar's in there." She met Pete's eyes with a determination that brooked no argument. "I'm going in."
Pete studied her for a moment, then sighed. "You're either the bravest or craziest person I've met. And I run an alien conspiracy shop in Duskrock."
He reached into the van and pulled out a backpack.
"Take this. Flashlight, water, basic first aid. And this." He handed her a weathered paper map. "It's an old survey of the cave system. Not complete, but better than nothing."
Dani took the supplies with a grateful nod. She shoved Marvin’s knapsack into the bag. "Thank you. For everything."
"Just bring them back safe," Pete replied. "I've got questions about the cosmos that need answering."
Dani approached the cave entrance, flashlight in hand. The darkness yawned before her, cool air wafting from its depths. She'd never been afraid of the dark, but this wasn't just darkness. It was unknown territory where the man she was falling for might be fighting for his life.
She took a deep breath and stepped inside. The temperature dropped immediately, the smell of earth and minerals filling her nostrils. Her flashlight beam cut through the gloom, revealing a passage that sloped downward. Water dripped somewhere in the distance.
"Solar!" she called out, hoping she didn't draw the wrong attention. The only response was her voice echoing back at her from within the cave.
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