Leo looked deep into the tunnel and was about to move when he suddenly remembered something important.
- Oh crap, I forgot of one more thing, - he said in an apologetic voice and climbed back on the ship. - What now, Serre? Did you forget of your favorite toy? - Katya mumbled sarcastically and a loud bang of something heavy made her turn head back – Leo threw out a small metal box, - Haven't expected your tastes so bad.
- How funny, you should have been a part-time comedian, - Serre replied with the same sarcastic tone when jumped down, took a rock and dropped it on the box with force. Device cracked and with the next hit the box shattered into pieces.
Katya looked at the scene with bewilderment, but Leo nodded approvingly and explained:
- A blackbox. Now nobody can read anything about “Sabre”, ownership, and ship records. I took everything out, but blackbox is too heavy to drag it with us.
- Smart...Where was it?...Oh I found, - Katya pulled out an artifact that was pulsing with a red glow, - It's reacting faster than I saw outside.
- Do you think the same thing is somewhere on Hascosay?
- Anything is possible.
Rogozina put the crystal back in her pocket and they both started moving into the tunnel, lighting the way with flashlights. They are bright enough to make Leo and Katya everything enlighten around them. They walked silently and the silence was interrupted only by the clatter of their shoes. The girl was confused by the strange appearance of the caves themselves, which had suspiciously smooth walls with sparse patterns in the waves. Thinking back on her geography lessons, she got scared after realizing where they could be and she stopped moving. Leo walked a few more meters and noticed Katya's steps paused.
- Are you okay, Katya?
- I am, but...I am worried and feel scared a bit.
- Huh? Did you hear a mystic voice or what?
- Voice? No, I didn't hear anything. I don't like the look of this tunnel. Look closely at the walls and how they look.
- I am sorry, but I am officer – not geologist to say the nature or rocks around us. Tell me what you mean.
- I can't say for sure, but from the looks of it, the structure of the stone is obviously volcanic in nature. Something that was left after ancient volcano eruptions...Leo, I am afraid we are inside the lava tunnel. Hopefully, it's a very old one and we don't have to race against the magma.
- Better be wrong.
- I want to be wrong too...
The feeling of anxiety did not leave the guys, but they continued to walk along the tunnel, which had long ceased to be straight. The cave began to look more like a snake, turning left and right, as it went up and down. Quite unnatural for normal lava tunnels. This route gradually wore Katya and Leo down, making them think hard about resting because they hadn't rested since takeoff from Amenta. About two hours passed at this pace when Leo noticed something new in the tunnel - a hole in the wall. He ran up to the formation and directed a ray of light outside - the breach went down below at a slight angle potentially allowing humans to pass here. Serre jumped off the ledge onto the rocks and helped Katya to do the same. Holding hands, they slowly walked down the rocks, and when they reached the bottom, Leo raised his head - his headlamp illuminated a completely different cave, which already looked like...a cave, not a tube.
- Are you sure we should have left the tunnel? – Katya asked worryingly. - I ain’t sure of anything in this place, but it was the airflow coming from the hole that attracted me. Let’s follow it – air must come from outside…Mon Dieu, can you see those columns?
- Yes, we call them stalagnates. They are formed as a result of the fusion of stalactites and stalagmites, - the girl said like she was a teacher on a lesson, - Thousand and million years must pass for this, so caves are really ancient…Leo, I am tired and hungry, we should find a place to rest.
Leo nodded, looked around the cave, and found a ledge near one of the columns. They came there and Rogozina sat down on the cold stone, exhaling with a sigh of relief. She looked up at the stone ceiling and listened to the light howl of the wind while her partner prepared a heating cell to make something similar to a bonfire since there was no single wood to fire. As the blue flames flickered, he relaxed and pulled out one of the briquettes giving it to Katya, then took one for himself. Serre couldn’t tell in precise what it reminded him of, but the taste was sweet. When the guy had finished everything, he followed Katya's example and laid down, too. The fire cheerfully warmed them both, giving them a sense of comfort in this unfriendly cave.
- Who would have guessed where we'd end up, huh? – Leo said, but nobody replied. He turned his head right and saw the girl lying next to him, already asleep. “She looks really tired. Well, I will let her rest”.
Leo marveled at the strange thoughts and feelings that came into his mind. He was afraid. But not of himself.
