Truehearts & The Escape From Pirate Moon by Jake Macklem (ebook audio reader TXT) 📕

giant’s thermal layer. What did Smith call that planet? Bet Shaw knows.

“It’s right on top of us. I didn’t think it would be this bad.” Cam had to raise his voice to be heard.

“Storms here are always bad,” Ace shouted.

He bit his lip then asked, “Why didn’t you say something?”

Ace shrugged. “I thought you knew…”

Cam started to say something when lightning struck the ground twenty meters away. With a flash and a roar, the ground nearby exploded, sending rocks and debris raining over the immediate area. As the echo of the crack faded in Cam’s ears, it was replaced by the crackling hum of electrical current. Electricity conducted through the high-iron surface! His eye wide, he shouted, “Let’s not dawdle.” They picked up their pace and headed toward the closest mountains. Ace slowed herself and kept speed with Cam. For being old he can still do it. A few loud thunderclaps, thirty mile-an-hour winds, and fifteen minutes later, the duo reached the base of the mountain.

The wind was less here, with the mountains shielding them as they looked for shelter. When the rain started, Ace felt a cool relief. The refreshing water washed away the heat, sweat, and dirt of the day. The dry ground repelled the water and pools and streams quickly started to form. The ground softened and became mud, sticking to the bottoms of her boots. Ace quickly realized she was still not in peak condition. She was out of breath, her legs burned, and her side felt like it was on fire. She was struggling to keep up with Cam now. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.

“There. I think that’s a cave,” Cam shouted, pointing further up the rocky slope.

“Oh? I was just starting to have fun,” Ace yelled back. Cam pulled his side pistol and spun it around and offered it to her, handle first. She reached out and took it, stabbing her spear in the ground. She checked the safety, mag, and chamber, racked a round, and picked up the spear. “I’ll take point.”

“That’s one option.” Cam nodded. “Or I could take point and you can cover my back. I do have the rifle.”

“Your call, Cowboy.” Is he being macho? Or protective?

They quickly closed the distance and entered the mouth of the cave. “Stay close, Red.” Cam turned the flashlight at the end of his rifle on. He scanned the ground with the light—dry, as were the walls. Ace did not see any tracks or marks in the dirt. He pointed the beam down the cave and went deeper inside. She quickly followed a few steps behind. The smell was dank. About twelve meters in, the cave started to open up. The ceiling sloped up twelve meters high and they found themselves in a chamber, the walls twenty meters apart in the widest spots, the temperature cooler than outside.

“What is this place?” She asked. “It doesn’t look natural. Like it was made or something.” Oh shit. “Does something live here?”

“That would be my guess.” Cam’s light settled on skeletal remains. Tusked, eyeless skulls were tossed together amidst a strewn collection of bones and scraps of hide and skin. “Looks like Susaderms.”

“What?”

“The pig-sized elephant things. You know.” Cam kept his light running along the edges of the walls looking for any sort of movement.

Ace nodded her approval. “Good name.” He’s good at this stuff. She kept her eyes moving, searching the dark recesses for danger. Always prepared and has everything he needs. Even if he does pack like a hussy on vacation. Oh—“That reminds me, where did you get a ladle?”

Cam stop and turn to look at Ace. “What?”

“The ladle. Where’d you get it?”

“We are in a cave, walking over the remains of the last living things that walked here, and you’re asking about a ladle?”

Why’s he getting so touchy? “It was just a question.”

“I carved it.” Cam swung around and ventured deeper into the chamber.

That’s impressive. “Aren’t you full of surprises.”

“What?”

Ace turned to answer and her legs went weak, her stomach dissolved to an empty space and her throat tightened. She tried to talk, but a whisper came out, “Shaw.”

Its body was two meters around, with a bulbous middle. Using its seven legs, each over three meters long, it quietly crawled down the wall of the chamber. The legs were spaced evenly around the central sphere, tipped with gleaming points, and segmented in enough places that they seemed able to fully curl beneath the beast. The multiple eyes focused on Cam. Stalking its prey, it did not seem aware of her. I hate spiders! A little louder, she said, “Shaw.”

The creature was creeping closer to Cam. A pair of smaller extremities unfolded from the bulb, each the length of the cowboy’s arm and glistening with a suspicious sheen. It’s gonna eat him. Pointing the pistol at the beast, she shouted, “It’s above you, Shaw!” Ace opened fire as the beast screeched, bullets sparking off its thick exoskeleton.

Cam stepped back, lifting the rifle. The light bounced across the stalking monster as he secured the butt of the stock against his shoulder. “Damn. You ugly.” In response, the creature opened its mandibles and hissed. Cam flipped his rifle from single-shot to burst and squeezed the trigger. The loud pop of each shot rang out. Some bullets sparked and screamed off into the dark, deflected by the exoskeleton. Others pierced the chitin, erupting through the flesh beneath and spraying orange bioluminescent blood across the cave floor.

The monster dropped from the wall, driving one of its talon-pointed legs at Cam. He managed to step back in time, but was off balance as the second leg smashed into his combat armor, tossing him three meters before he slammed into the ground. Rolling with the force, he used the momentum and came up on his knees, rifle