SIREN

Chapter Fourteen

The wooden tunnel was scarcely big enough to stand up in. Sam trooped along ahead, breaking the odd twig and branch in order to advance.

'Have you noticed something, Teabags?' He asked me, cracking a branch over his knee.

'I've noticed a lot of things, Sam. We're on an alien spaceship.'

'You know what I mean.'

'I don't, but I can tell you've spotted something.'

He turned to me with a grin. 'Mud,' he said, pointing at his shoes.

I lifted my left boot and peered at the silt and dirt that had accumulated along the sole. Brown sticky ooze caked the tongue and straps. 'You're right! Mud! It's not mulch or bark! This is mud!'

'Never thought I'd be so thankful to see that crap,' Sam laughed and ploughed on.

I stuck my finger against my shoe and scooped up a dollop of wet mud. I thought of Earth and all that I had left behind. I thought about my family, and how they were doing. I thought of all the films and TV shows I missed out on and what I'd have to catch up with. I thought about succulent foods and the smell of the ocean. That tiny blob of mud sparked a tidal wave of nostalgia.

'Teabags, on me.' Sam hissed, tilting his shoulders down. He cocked his gun.

I rushed to his side and mimicked his posture. 'What?'

'Bogey at the end of the tunnel.' He waved a finger.

At the end of the passage, an electric blue shape shifted in the dark. It lit up the whole tunnel in a cobalt glow and then receded.

'What the Hell was that?' I spoke softly and pulled my own pistol out of my pocket. The weight felt strange in my hands. I wasn't sure if I was ready to shoot anything.

'No idea, but it's about ten feet away, maybe less,' Sam said, creeping. He kept his back glued to the sides and his head low.

'What do we do?'

'Say hello, I guess.' Before I could argue with him, Sam leapt and sprung out the tunnel. He stood out in the open, and stopped dead.

'Damn it, damn it, damn it!' I repeated as I followed his footsteps.

'Stop messing around. Get out here.' Sam's voice was firm and sharp.

Spurred on by his tone, I flopped out the opening and wiped the streaks of dirt off my trousers. I was halfway through cleaning myself when Sam grabbed my helmet and pulled me up.

I tried to say something smart, but my brain couldn't think of a single world. My jaw hung open as I stared up at the giant fungal structure. Thousands of thick vines squirmed on the floor below like possessed worms. The wet slopping of their limbs flopping and struggling in the soil sounded like a thousand people chewing with their mouths open. I felt a quick flash of vomit rise and fall in my throat.

The giant mushroom behind them was, on the other hand, rather beautiful to look at. Upon its white top, a network of electric blue lights flickered on and off, causing a captivating light show that lit up the dark chamber.

'We came all this way,' Sam said, walking over the thrashing vines, 'we built a spaceship, we left our Earth, we risked our lives, and all we found was a mushroom?'

'Well, it... I mean...' I moved my hands and tried to make a sentence.

'Look at it! Look at this thing!' Sam moved to the central column and brought back his boot and punted his foot into the fleshy white pillar.