It felt like it had been days since he had been gone when it had probably been only an hour and a half. If he was going back to the tunnel they came out of, he would have made it there by now, but she wasn’t sure that was the direction he had gone. She should have asked or at least watched him as he traveled so that she knew.
Well, it wouldn’t do her any good now to worry about what she couldn’t change.Damn it! I need to see what’s going on.
Pulling on her body suit once more, she went over to the cave entrance. MarIK had placed the big boulder in front but there was just enough space near the top to allow her to see out. She spotted several dark shadows moving in the distance toward the cave. At first, she wondered if there were wild creatures on the lunar surface. Then she spotted yellow glowing eyes — the Morins.Oh shit!
She ran back inside the cave and looked for a weapon and a place she could hide. If they had a really good sense of smell like the Katierans, they would find her. Was it like a dog losing a scent if she hid in the water?
Quickly she hid all evidence of her and MarIK. She hid the bag with their extra clothes and the blanket behind a rock and covered the glow rocks with dirt. Then she moved to the pool of water and stepped inside. Remembering the loose sharp rocks around the edges, she reached for one to use as a weapon. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to use it, because she would have to be close to an attacker to do any good.
She listened for the sound of the boulder being moved. Her heart raced when she finally heard it. Then she listened, trying to picture the Morins as they moved through the cavern. When she thought she heard one of them enter the inner chamber she was in, she took a deep breath and ducked under the water.
Looking up, she could see the blurry image of a shoulder of one of them as he walked around the pool of water, but thankfully he wasn’t looking into the water. Thank God for all the times she practiced holding her breath with her cousins in the pool at her grandparents, but even she couldn’t hold out forever. Her lungs felt compressed and she knew she would need to take a breath soon.
She wasn’t sure how long she stayed under, but when she couldn’t hear or see any signs of them from her vantage point, she slowly rose up to let her nose and mouth get the air that it needed. Her lungs felt like they were burning but she made every effort to not make any sound. Then she moved forward and stepped on the rocks that jutted out from the side to form a step.
She peaked over the edge of the pool and caught sight of one of the Morins, who had just found the bag she had tried to hide. Where was the other one?
“Found you!”
She heard the male’s voice and tried to move away, but he grabbed her hair and pulled her out of the water like she weighed nothing. Because her hair was short, he lost his hold and had to grab her by the back of her suit. She dangled painfully in the air as he showed her to the other Morin.
“Where’s the male that was with you?”
“It’s just me. Let me go!”
The Morin didn’t listen to her but carried her further away from the pool of water. She remembered that she had the sharp rock in her hand. She twisted suddenly and aimed the sharp end for his heart. She struck as hard and deeply as she could.
“What in Kitana?” He threw her to the ground as he reached for the rock that had become embedded in him.
She glanced up and noticed a lot of yellowish-looking blood pouring out of the Morin, but she didn’t have time to waste. She got up and made a run toward the entrance of the cave. She still had her body suit on and hoped that it would still work even though it was now wet — but she didn’t make it that far.
The other Morin chased her and easily caught her. He knocked her to the ground and then slapped her face a couple of times — but that wasn’t the worst part. She had landed on one of those sharp rocks, which punctured her side, cutting through the body suit and her skin.
Sharon tried to fight the Morin to get him off of her but the pain was too much and she was dizzy from being slapped. A heavy weight was pressing on her and the air was leaving her lungs. She knew she would either bleed out or the Morin would suffocate her. Either way, she didn’t see how she could make it out of there alive. Her last thought was of MarIK and how she wished could have convinced him to claim her last night. She wanted nothing more than to have been his, even if it would have been for just one night.
Her eyes blinked when spots appeared in her vision; then, suddenly, the weight on her was gone. As she choked, trying to take in as much air as possible, she turned to see MarIK fighting the Morin. He moved so fast, she had a hard time keeping track of him, plus she was feeling woozy. Something shiny caught her eye. She realized the Morin had a knife.
“Watch out, MarIK!”
MarIK stepped back just in time as the Morin lurched at him with the blade toward his heart. It was a near miss with a minor cut. He kicked out shoving the Morin back. The next time the Morin charged him, MarIK used his momentum to take him down by pulling his arm and making him lose balance. The Morin fell on his own knife. MarIK took out his phase ray and shot the Morin when he tried to get back up.
“There’s another one,” she whispered, trying to let MarIK know about the other Morin. She closed her eyes. She was just so tired; she needed a few minutes of rest.
“Sharon...Sharon, answer me.”
“What?”
“Sharon, I’ve been trying to wake you for several minutes. Open your eyes for me.”
She blinked and opened her eyes. “Did you get the other Morin?”
“Yes, he’s dead. You stabbed him.”
“I did, but I didn’t get away.”
“You’re bleeding. I don’t have anything that will heal it. All I can do is use a mud paste to try to stop the bleeding.”
“I’ll be okay.”
