Author Notes: * mean thoughts (To also help the reader see the thoughts I've italicized as well) { mean when a person is talking on a communicator. This story doesn't follow the series to its entirety. This is the fifth chapter of my Hoshi/Reed epic. As always I love feedback. Please tell me what you think of my stories, give me suggestions, let me know if I made a mistake, tell me anything you want be it positive or negative. (tora_ziyal13@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: Enterprise and all the related characters belong to Paramount. This fan fiction piece belongs to me. So if you want to archive it please ask. Just to let you all know I'm not making any profit off this story ~Ziyal~
Rating: PG-13
The Red Planet X
'Sand Trap'
By Tora Ziyal
Hoshi felt her way through the dark tunnels of the cavern. The flashlight that she carried wasn't as bright as she hoped it would be, but still it was better than felling her way through pitch black. The ground that she traveled on was sandy which made it hard for her to walk in without sinking in it slightly. The walls of the tunnels were made of jagged rocks, which she gently glided her hand on; occasionally one of the rocks would slice her hand, almost like giving her a paper cut. If she was given a choice she'd be back at Lieutenant Reed's side, were at least it was light. But she had no choice; she knew she had to find water or something that Reed and herself could drink before severe dehydration set it. *Please don't let me run in to any aliens.* She thought as she took several more steps, stopping at what appeared to be a fork in the tunnel. *I was hoping that this wasn't going to happen. This place is probably a huge maze of tunnels.* She looked to her left and then to the right deciding which path she would follow. *I wish Malcolm were here with me.* She thought as she entered the right tunnel. *I hope he's doing okay.*
Hoshi walked along the sand slowly. This tunnel seemed to be narrower than the last one she went through. Her claustrophobia began to rise. *This is not the time or place to have a panic attack.* She had to duck down a little because the ceiling of the tunnel began to get lower as she moved forward. The sides of the tunnel were growing closer together forcing her to turn to the side and squeeze through it that way as well as duck her head. The air around Hoshi became so thick that it choked her and she had to stop to catch her breath. *I can't do this anymore!* She shined the flashlight down the tunnel only to find that it came in so tight that she'd never be able to fit through it. A gasp of relief escaped from her lips and she began to make her way back.
She finally reached the fork again and took the left path this time, hoping for a better outcome. This tunnel seemed to be as spacious as the one she started out in. The ceiling was high and the walls had enough space between them for two people to walk side by side. Hoshi could breath easier, even though she could feel her anxiety rising. As she moved through the tunnel slowly she could feel the temperature begin to rise by a few degrees. *Did the temperature rise like this in the other tunnel?* She asked herself. She couldn't remember if it had or hadn't because she was so focused on fitting through. The sand on the ground got a little deeper as she walked and soon her entire foot was immersed into the red sand. *This sand is getting deeper.* She thought as she trudged through it, grabbing onto the wall for stability. Soon the sand began to fill her boots, making it even more difficult to walk. *I've come this far and I'm not going back.* She repeated over and over to herself as she continued. Her flashlight had grown dimmer and she was getting worried that it may go out on her any second. The thought of that happening while she was in here made her throat close up. She still had her phase pistol that Malcolm had given her, and if it came to worse she could probably fire the pistol on the lowest setting to give her some temporary light. By this time the sand was up to her shins and it had become almost impossible to walk through with her boots filled with sand. Hoshi stopped and looked ahead of her, the path didn't change any but she could imagine that the sand only got deeper. *This is almost pointless, the sand will be probably be up to my neck before long, and then what am I going to do?* She asked herself.
Just as she was about to head back again, she spotted a small ledge of rock that ran along the tunnel walls. *I bet if I stayed on that I could get a little further. Maybe I'd get somewhere a little more interesting than this.* The only problem was getting to the ledge. It didn't start until a couple yards in front of her, and she had no idea how deep the sand would be. *I have to give this a shot.* She said as she took a couple of steps forward. She could feel the sand getting deeper, she just hoped that it get wouldn't dramatically deep. The sand was up to her knees by the time she climbed out of it onto the ledge. *I made it!* She thought happily. She leaned up against the wall and pulled off her boots one by one to dump the sand out of them before she continued on.
She felt so light now that all the sand was gone from her boots that she practically lost her balance off the ledge as she walked forward on it. The ledge was narrow but Hoshi felt that if she took her time, she'd be okay on it. Her flashlight was still at the same dimness as it was before, which she figured was a good thing. She had lost track of the time but she estimated that she had been gone from Malcolm's side for about an hour now. He kept popping up into her mind and she hoped that coming all this way would have a good outcome. , like finding some source of water for them.
The tunnels began to shake suddenly. Hoshi immediately clung onto the sides as best as she could. Loose rocks and sand came down from the ceiling, hitting her head and body. *What is this? Some kind of quake?* She thought as her eyes grew wide with fear. She almost fell off the ledge but caught and pressed herself against the wall as tight as she could. She shrieked when another quake vibrated through the tunnel, this one was much more powerful than the last and her phase pistol slipped from her hand and fell into the sandpit just below the ledge.
"Shoot!" Hoshi yelled as she looked down to see her pistol laying in the sand. The shaking quit and the tunnels were quiet once again. She was about to bend down and pick up her phaser but the sand began to pull it down like it was swallowing it. "Quicksand?" She said as she looked to where her pistol once was. She stood back up and began to move forward again, being extra careful that she did not fall into the sand trap below. Hoshi was a little frightened now that she had no weapon to protect her but she felt that she wasn't in any danger of meeting anyone down here right now. She walked along the ledge a little while longer until it branched off and widened into a flat rock surface. She jumped off the ledge onto it. The surface felt stable enough. "This is more like it." Hoshi thought as she scanned her flashlight in the area. She really couldn't see anything but rocks and it didn't sound like any water was in this huge rocky room. Hoshi's heart sunk. *I've come all this way only to find myself in a huge room with out anyway out, besides the way I came.* She thought sadly.
Her heart beat faster as she thought about her journey back to Malcolm. How she would have to go through all that sand and what if those quakes started again. She might be as lucky as she was before. She turned back to the entranceway and then her flashlight went out. Hoshi gasped loudly as she darkness enveloped her. Her heart beat at an unhealthy rate and her throat dried out. She opened her eyes as wide as she could hoping that she would be able to see better but there was no light what so ever, she was just surrounded by blackness.
She held onto her flashlight and began to press the button on and off hoping that it would miraculously come back on. Without it there would be no way she'd ever make it back to Malcolm. She'd for surely fall into the sand trap or get lost in the dark. Her heart felt like it was in her throat and all she wanted to do was cry. *I cannot freak out like this!* She yelled at herself. *Malcolm is depending on me.* She thought as she hit the flashlight with the palm of her hand and it came on.
Hoshi took a couple of breaths and prayed that it would not go out on her again until at least she made it back to Malcolm. She looked ahead of her where the light was shinning only to see that she was not alone in this room. She was almost face to face with a humanoid creature that had bluish skin and no hair. Hoshi stepped back and let out a scream that echoed through out the cavern. She took another step back as she alien came towards her and the tripped over a rock. Her flashlight fell out of her hands and smashed on the ground, causing the room to become pitch black again, leaving Hoshi and the alien alone in the dark.
To be continued.......
