Sorcha The Alien Book One

Chapter Fourteen

Daeanal wipes his hands over his face, his body shakes, and I match his anxious demeanour. The lift lowers steadily, delivering us ever deeper into the base as an illuminated screen displays our descent. Cantral paces, backwards and forwards, six steps in either direction.

"The base is big, we can hide, right?" I glance to Daeanal and Cantral.

Cantral's fingers race against the screen upon the wall and the lift stops abruptly. "We are outnumbered, we cannot defend or leave the base." Confidence is gone, fear strikes her face like lightening. "I need your access codes."

Daeanal backs into the corner and lowers to the floor, his head shakes. "No ... I'm not being taken prisoner again."

"Daeanal!" Cantral shouts. "Give me your access codes!"

I glance to Cantral and shake my head. Shouting won't work, it doesn't work with me. Daeanal rocks backwards and forwards, he mutters unintelligible words.

"Fendan's told me about you," Cantral says, her voice on the edge of gruff and she squats before him. "He speaks highly of you, you were instrumental in freeing the entra from the Entara, you worked with Haroc and Fendan, didn't you?"

His head perks up, his eyes wild. "But what happened next?"

Cantral stands, her brief fling with patience over. "Get up!"

I gently shove Cantral out of the way and sit besides Daeanal. "I know this is scary. I'm scared too." Actually, I don't know what I am. "You don't want to be taken prisoner again, but you captured my friend, Sask. She's stuck on your base alone and scared. I need to get to her; I need to free her—"

Daeanal jumps up. "Free the beast! That might just work!" He steps before the screen, and his fingers blur across the surface. "I'm activating emergency mode, all systems bar the essential will shut down, it means Shazna won't be able to track us."

The light in the elevator dims and a hum I hadn't realised was present fades. For a moment true silence encapsulates us.

Cantral's fist thumps the lift wall. "Does it also mean the lift won't move?"

"Yes!" Daeanal grins. "I've studied this base for the past two years, I know every access point, every service tunnel. I can get you to Sask ... maybe." Daeanal looks to me. "Sask will protect us, not eat us, correct?"

"Yes!" I snap.

He darts to the corner of the lift and taps his foot thrice against the floor, a panel momentarily glows, and a screen appears upon its surface. He taps a code, a portion of the floor slides away and I stare into a dark hole, the lift shaft. Through the hole Daeanal drops and swings to a ladder on a wall I can barely see.

Cantral follows fluidly, without hesitation. She grabs a rung and leans to me with her arm held out. "You'll be okay, I'll catch you."

Thanks to my mum's encouragement, gymnastics became a special interest. So, I'm more flexible than many my age. But as I sit with my legs dangling over the edge of the trapdoor, peering down a mile of unlit elevator shaft ... It looks like a landing I won't be able to stick. My heart races as I lower myself further, until my entire body is hanging from the elevator and only my fingers save me from death. Don't look down, I repeat. A gentle swing rocks my body faster and faster. I let go, my arms flail and stretch for Cantral. Our fingers meet, she grips me tight, and I crash into the wall hard.

"Ow," I whisper as Cantral drags me up and I attach myself to the ladder.

We climb downwards, in the dark, with naught but touch light to guide me. The air around us fills with a melodic hum, emitted casually from Daeanal, like this is no more than a mid-afternoon jaunt. Maybe he's a little like me, maybe he needs to do certain things to keep himself functioning.