Page 14 of Legend of Scorpio
The doctor’s picking at the glacier became a monotone in the background that he barely paid any mind to until it stopped and didn’t resume. He went to check on the doctor, only to realize she’d disappeared. Her things remained, if scattered—the giant seal who’d snuck up was having a blast knocking them about.
“You fucker.” He leaped down, his knees bending to minimize impact. The seal took one look at him, barked, and waddled off, but not far. It slipped into a puddle and disappeared. Sly bastard.
Now, where was the doctor—first name Rebecca, another thing discovered while he’d been snooping. It wasn’t as if she’d volunteered it.
“Where are you, Doc?” She couldn’t have gone far, yet the icy plateau showed nothing but penguins. Had she fallen in the same hole the seal used? She didn’t seem that clumsy. Still, he crouched by it and peered into the deep water. Saw nothing. As he turned, he noticed a slight alcove in the glacier. His brow raised at the sight of a large hole that showed an edge of stone, the size and shape of it very much like a doorway.
“Doc? Hello?” he called out as he approached. She didn’t reply.
Up close to the gaping entrance to the cave, he noticed the rock had been tooled, the edges perfectly square, the symbols etched?—
“Holy fuck.” He recognized the Zodiac signs, or at least their ancient version and not the more modern stuff used thesedays. “She found it,” he murmured aloud, only to scowl. She’d discovered an ancient ruin and gone looking without notifying him.
He put a foot on the first step but hesitated at the darkness below. Surely, she wouldn’t have gone exploring without light. Even he couldn’t see in the dark. Did she carry a flashlight on that sled? Had she taken it? He didn’t spot any hint of illumination.
A faint groan rising from the stairwell brought a frisson to his skin.
“Rebecca?” he called out.
A moan replied.
Ah, fuck. He trotted down the steps, his visibility worsening as he descended, until he brushed his hand against the narrow walls enclosing the stairs. The stone began to emit a faint glow. He frowned as he flattened his palm against the surface, increasing the brightness.
“I’ll be damned.” This stairwell hadn’t been carved into just any rock, but a meteorite, a star fallen to Earth, which explained why it reacted to him. As he descended, he trailed his fingers on the wall, the glow following as he made his way down the long stretch of steps.
Very long.
How fucking far did they go?
Rebecca didn’t make another sound. Had she encountered something?
Nothing attacked, and when Scorpio reached the bottom he found Rebecca crumpled on the floor. A quick glance showed no limbs visibly broken or twisted, a relief, although she did have a gash on her forehead. The blood from the head wound stained the floor, but her breathing remained steady. She’d have a headache for sure when she woke, possibly even a concussion, but at least it wasn’t worse.
He knelt by her side and began checking her more thoroughly. Once he’d ascertained she’d broken nothing—her thick snowsuit having padded her fall—he scooped her into his arms and stood. The dilemma? Should he take up the stairs and back to the habitat, or explore the small round chamber he found himself in? A glance showed the walls smooth but for a slender hole.
The kind of hole that begged for a hand to go groping.
The kind of hole that could very well hide something that would eat said hand.
The kind of hole that would bug him endlessly if he didn’t know what it hid.
Holding Rebecca with one arm, he pulled a spear and poked at the opening.
Nothing happened. The spear entered and exited without issue.
Did he dare risk his flesh?
Fuck yeah, he did. His hand went in next and found the interior warm and dry. Nothing skittered over him like inTemple of Doom. Nothing tried to bite it off. He pushed deeper, only to find the opening narrowed enough he risked being wedged.
He withdrew his hand and noticed nothing on his skin, not even dust.
Doc began to stir, grunting in his arms, her head turning side to side. Her lashes fluttered, and when they stared at him blearily, she murmured, “Not you again.”
He grinned. “Hey, Doc. You took quite the tumble. Forget how to use stairs?”
She grimaced. “It was that stupid seal again. It scared me, and I fell.” She stiffened. “Hold on, you said stairs. Where am I?”
“Inside the glacier. You appear to have found some kind of ruin. You should have called for me before exploring,” he chided.