sub77coca

@@@@@ I hesitated, crouched awkwardly in the mouth of my cave, until Jeb nodded at me ?Go ahead,? he told me I climbed out, stiff and unsteady, and took Jeb's offered hand to balance myselfJared made a sound of revulsion and turned his face awayHe was holding the gun tightly, his knuckles white over the barrelI didn't like to see it in his handsIt bothered me more than it did with Jeb Jared didn't make allowances for me the way Jeb hadHe stalked off into the black tunnel without pausing for me to catch up It was hard?he didn't make much noise and he didn't guide me, so I had to walk with one hand in front of my face and one hand on the wall, trying not to run into the rockI fell twice on the uneven floorThough he did not help me, he did wait till he could hear that I was on my feet again to continueOnce, hurrying through a straighter section of the tube, I got too close and my searching hand touched his back, traced across the shape of his shoulders, before I realized that I hadn't reached another wallHe jumped ahead, jerking out from under my fingers with an angry hiss ?Sorry,? I whispered, feeling my cheeks turn warm in the darkness He didn't respond, but sped his pace so that following was even more difficult I was confused when, finally, some light appeared ahead of meHad we taken a different route? This was not the white brilliance of the biggest cavernIt was muted, pale and silveryBut the narrow crevice we'd had to pass through seemed the same It wasn't until I was inside the giant, echoing space that I realized what caused the difference It was nighttime; the light that shone dimly from above mimicked the light of the moon rather than the sunI used the less-blinding illumination to examine the ceiling, trying to ferret out its secretHigh, so very high above me, a hundred tiny moons shone their diluted light toward the dim, distant floorThe little moons were scattered in patternless clusters, some farther away than oth