Page 21 of The Program

That didn’t discount it as a viable option, however.

Honestly, neither one was appealing. Both planets were brimming with deadly creatures and poisonous plants. The thought of being stuck in the wilds of either planet was not reassuring in the slightest, and I knew I was going to have to be extra vigilant with the health and safety of all the expectant mothers.

Somehow they had all begun to look towards me for guidance. Perhaps it was because I was the first one to step up and provide for them all, or perhaps it was because I was more knowledgeable about how to survive in the wilds. It didn’t really matter what their reasoning was. I had managed to find myself responsible for all these women, their unborn babies, and their stolen children.

I still had no clue how I was going to get them back yet, either.

I picked my way through the undergrowth, careful not to let the tangling vines wrap around my ankles. I hadn’t figured out if they were just seriously tangled or if they were moving on their own like a sentient species, but they had a habit of tripping us up at every turn.

When I reached Libby, I found her staring straight up the side of a mountain I hadn’t even realised was there. The canopy may have been thinning in places, but it was still thick enough to prevent us from seeing much, so I tried not to kick myself too hard about missing it. She was pointing up high, and I followed her finger to see a ledge jutting out from the sidebeneath what looked like an opening to a cave. It was well hidden, only our enhanced eyesight giving us the ability to see it.

‘Please don’t stray so far from me again,’ I scolded her, and she sent me a look filled with apology and understanding.

I gave her a side-hug as we stared up at the potential of a home, hope filling us both if the way she squeezed me back was any indication.

‘Good job, Libs. You stay here, I’m gonna go check it out.’

‘Not a chance, A. You know damn well I’m coming with you,’ she protested firmly.

I turned to face her fully, pursing my lips at her bullheadedness. It didn’t matter how stubborn she was, I wasn’t going to budge. ‘Liberty, you are pregnant. We don’t know if we can even climb up there safely, let alone what we’ll find inside. I’m not risking you or the baby just because you want to stick to me like fucking glue.’

She huffed at me, her breath puffing against my face and blowing the thin strands of hair that were already growing back at an advanced rate away from my forehead. I could see it in her eyes how much she wanted to argue. She was afraid for me, too, but she had more than one life to consider here, and I would be fine.

‘I can take care of myself, Libs. Just wait down here and I’ll check it out as quick as I can, then I’ll be right back down here with you and we can grab the others.’ I gripped her arms just below her shoulders, willing her to agree without another argument. We’d been bickering a lot since we’d escaped, both of us wanting to protect the other over ourselves. I always won by using the not pregnant card, and she was getting tired of it.

Still, it was working because it was true. I was the only one of the entire group that wasn’t creating another life, so I was the most expendable. There was no refuting that.

‘I fucking hate you,’ she grumbled, reluctantly giving in.

I shot her a tired, knowing, closed-lipped smile. ‘No you don’t. Stay put and call out for me if anything tries to attack you.’

She waved me off. ‘Yeah, yeah. I know the drill. Just hurry up and see if we have a place to live or not.’

I gave her a patronising pat on the head which she swatted away, then began the climb up the mountainside feeling lighter and more hopeful than I had in a long time.

The rocks were easy enough to grab onto and use to haul myself up, but I realised belatedly that we would need to create some sort of elevator system to pull up the women with bigger bellies. My own flat abdomen was scraping against the boulders as I climbed higher. I also wasn’t sure how strong the other women were, or if they would be able to pull themselves up like this. I doubted they would have much issue with it, since we had come from the same facility they were likely to have endured the same procedures.

Regardless, we would need to make it more accessible.

I slowed when I reached the ledge, keeping myself pressed against its underside while I listened for any signs of life or danger. When a few clicks passed without any indication of a threat I carefully pulled myself up and over the ledge. I stayed low to the ground and threw all of my focus into enhancing my hearing and my sight. It was still dark, though the sun was beginning to peak over the top of the horizon in the distance. It was brighter than beneath the forest’s canopy, the leaves no longer blocking the sky, but I knew I would need all the help I could get while checking out the entrance of what was definitely a cave.

I could barely see further than the entrance, even with my enhanced sight. I made the decision to focus more of my energy on my eyes to create that blue glow in order to produce a little more illumination for me to see by.

I was glad I did when the first thing I saw was a selection of scattered bones lining the sides of the cave. I rose from my position on the ground, getting my feet steady beneath me in case I needed to fight. Or run. Then I took a tentative step forward, straining for any sign of whatever had left the mess.

The bones had been picked clean and were covered in a layer of dust that seemed to prove the lack of any immediate danger. I didn’t let my guard down, however. I knew from past experiences that just because something seemed safe, it didn’t make it so.

The further I dared travel inside the cave, the more bones I found, and the less evidence of anything occupying this particular cave I found. There was so much dust that I struggled to breathe through it all. Every slight movementI made seemed to disturb it and cause it to swirl in a cloud around me, even when I barely moved.

The deeper I went, the wider it became. The ceiling rose higher, the walls expanded, and eventually the remains of past meals petered out. I realised why soon enough.

In the midst of stalagmites and stalactites was the mummified remains of the most enormous creature I had ever encountered. Its skin was dehydrated, clinging to bone and refusing to rot. Its many eyes were closed, the eyelids wrinkled and concaved, its eyeballs clearly long since disintegrated. Spikes that reminded me of the ones I’d seen on those of Tornu descent lined it’s spine, though these were pressed down as flat as could be against its back. A long tail ran from the base of its spine, covered in those same spikes and curved around its body as if it had gotten comfortable for its own demise. Its head rested on top of giant paws as if it had died in its sleep. Claws poked out from its digits, long and sharp, though a few were chipped as if they were unable to maintain the same level of preservation as the rest of its body.

What concerned me the most, however, was that its teeth were poking from its mouth, too large to be contained with deadly points and painful-looking barbs lining the sides. And they were the most stunning, vibrant shade of red I had ever seen.

Whatever it was, it was venomous, it was deadly, and even in its mummified state I was sure it would still cause fatal damage. I would need to remove it to keep the women and their children safe, because if any of them so much as touched those fangs, there was no saying what would happen.

I stepped closer, still wary. Despite knowing it was dead, there were creatures and other things that existed that maintained their deadliness even after death. Some remained poisonous to the touch, others had post-mortem reflexes that could cause pretty severe damage or straight up kill. Not knowing what this thing was, I needed to proceed with extreme caution.

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