Demon Seed

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Team Study site

“Ow, what the hell!  Ross, did you throw something”? Emily screamed as she stood up quickly.  “No, what happened to you?  Do you have a mark, get bitten or fall”?  Ross asked concerned.

“I was kneeling down, brushing off this pot I found and felt this small stinging sensation in my calf and that’s when I turned around and looked at you since you were right behind me”! , explained Emily.  When she looked at her calf, she noticed a developing red spot with a small center of blood drying in the heat.  “You got stung by a scorpion Emily”!  Ross exclaimed.  “Did you happen to see the size of it?  The small ones are deadly here!  Let me get you some medicine before you have a reaction”. 

Emily, Meaghan and Courtney all walked to the first aid tent and met up with Ross to see about Emily’s leg and what needed doing.  Ross looked closely at the sting and determined that it was a larger scorpion so Emily shouldn’t have issues.  However, he asked Emily, “Are you allergic to bee stings, bug bites or the like?  Because if you are we will have to watch you for anaphylactic shock while you rest.  {Put this ice pack on your leg and I’ll give you a shot of an antidote for stings.  If you feel any tightness in your throat or lots of swelling in your leg, yell at one of us and we will have to get you back to the village to find a doctor”!   Emily smiled at them and laid her head down on the cot pillow and rested.  The rest of the team went back to their respective study areas and resumed their work.

Courtney kept lifting her blue eyes to look at Ross, who was shirtless and muscular, lifting small rocks and checking crystal structures for alignment.  Courtney was checking for any holes or fissures that developed from the numerous earthquakes and aftershocks they have experienced for the last three days.  As Courtney walked around the hill she was observing, she noticed a large hole in the hillside.  She started towards the opening only to notice that there were numerous shiny and roundish fragments scattered throughout the area by the opening.  Picking up a piece of these rocks, Courtney noticed what appeared as pictures or runes along these pieces.  She called Meaghan over with her camera to begin taking pictures of the area.

“Ross and Tracy, come here please!  I think I may have found something interesting in this area!  Hurry”! , yelled Courtney.  All of the team moved over to her area and began to look at what she discovered.  “Meaghan, start taking pictures of the rock fragments, Ross, can you climb up further with me and we can look into the hole itself.  Tracy, pick up as many of the fragments as you can fit into a bucket and take them to the truck please”. 

Courtney and Ross began to ascend the hill and got closer to the opening. Both noticed what appeared to be claw marks on the sides of the large crack that made the opening of   the cave.  “Do you see this?  What could make marks like that”! Courtney whispered to Ross.  “I don’t know, but whatever it was, it’s a very large animal.  I’d say the claws are at least four inches long!  The crack is almost five feet wide and the cave goes back at least 10-15 feet deep.  I’m going in, you stay here and watch for any collapse please”.  Ross began to move towards the opening, cautiously looking for any signs of caving in, Ross enters the strange cave.

“Hand me a flashlight Courtney.  Its kinda dark in here”, Ross asks her.  Courtney hands him the flashlight and their fingers touch softly as she does so.  Ross looks at her in the eye and smiles slightly.  Courtney starts to blush and looks toward the other team members below them.  Tracy and Meaghan elbow each other and giggle a little at the sight.  Courtney just rolls her eyes and looks back at the cave opening.

“Hey Courtney, can you tell one of the girls to grab a camera?  You aren’t going to believe this”.  Ross says excitedly.  “There are markings all the way around this cave and form some strange set of runes.  We need to document these before rain or another earthquake destroys them.  Just amazing”!

Tracy runs the camera up the hill, but to not feel left out, Meaghan is right behind her.  Courtney grabs the camera from Tracy, hands it to Ross and he enters the cave and goes deeper.  The team starts seeing numerous flashes and Ross exclaiming repeatedly, “Just amazing, this is awesome, How cool is that”! 

The team keeps sticking their heads in and Ross tells Courtney to enter and help him.  Courtney, jumping at the chance to see too, climbs into the cave, only to see numerous markings like Ross was saying.  “Oh my God, this is so amazing!  What do you think these mean?  How did they get here”?  Courtney is yelling to Ross.  “Court, this cave echoes really well!  Stop yelling so loud”!  Ross says to her.

Meaghan and Tracy are vying to be next to see and get into an argument about whose turn it is.  “What the hell Tracy, you just freaking saw inside, let me look now!  If you don’t get the fuck outta the way, I’m gonna throw your ass off the hill”!  Meaghan screams.  Tracy, being the diva she is, exclaims to Meaghan, “I have more education than you and can figure out what these are without your help.  So, I’m looking to see what I can figure out.  Why don’t you run along and play with your little computers”! 

Meaghan, being the fiery redhead she is, begins to flush and ball her fists to get ready to throw Tracy’s ass off the hill.  Courtney steps out of the cave and yells, “Enough already!  You know you both will get a chance to see inside.  Tracy, I gave you a job to do anyway!  Did you get the samples of rocks in the trucks?  If not, move your ass and get it done!  Meaghan, the camera SD card needs to be analyzed”.  Courtney hands her the card and instructs her to go to the equipment tent and get started on the pictures. 

Courtney turns around to reenter the cave when she comes nose-to-nose with Ross.  Inches away from his face, lips and smile, Courtney’s heart begins a staccato beat all its own.  Ross just smiles at her blush and says, “I really like your smile.  You also have really beautiful blue eyes.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you are trying to kiss me”.  The blush on Courtney’s face deepens immediately and she turns and walks a few feet away.  Ross just snickers and turns back into the cave.