A few hours of exploration later

"Let's have a break."

Judy could never think hearing these words could make her so relieved. The small group sat down with a collective groan in the dark cavern. Its been three hours since they left the escape pod and they did nothing except walking in caverns and tunnels, occasionally bumping their heads on the numerous stalactites or tripping on some rocks on the ground. The tunnels had branched several times and they had the feeling they were lost in the large network of lava tubes. It was especially hard for Judy whose sprained ankle was still painful and who was fighting her claustrophobia.

"I suggest we eat a bit, then sleep for a few hours," Ian said. "I don't know how much longer we have to walk but these tunnels probably had numerous exit, we shouldn't be very far from one of them" he added, trying his best to sound comforting. But he knew it could be more. His first assignment was on the Olympus Mons base on Mars and the lava tunnels in this volcanic area could extend over dozens of kilometres, if not more. Food and water could become a very serious problem, although he hoped they could find an underground lake or a spring.

The survivors' mood didn't improve when Finn began distributing the food and water. They knew they needed to ration their supplies but the sight of a small granola bar and a part of cold canned beef was still depressing for the tired group.

"I really hope we could find some food quick," Serena said as she finished her small meal. "Maybe there is some EEeeeeppp!!!" she screamed as she felt something ran against her leg.

"What happens, are you ok?" Finn asked as he moved the flashlight toward Serena. The frightened redhead was about to answer when Ian yelled too.

"HERE! there's something, give me the light".

The light beam illuminated a large stalagmite, before focusing on something at its base. It looked like a mole-rat but with dark skin. Its eyes were large and white, the small creature was probably blind since it didn't react to the light beam. Serena threw a rock toward it but it avoided it easily before running into a dark tunnel.

"Well, I guess we've found some food here," Ian said as he sat down, this creature looks harmless, we could probably catch some since our rations are limited.

"No way, I'm not eating that!" Serena said, throwing an angry glance toward him.

"Beggars can't be choosers Serena, It a possibility, although It will probably be hard to catch some.

"Why? It's probably blind, it didn't react when Ian used the flashlight", Finn declared as he explored the cavern around them.

"Yeah, but it reacted incredibly fast when Serena threw a rock at him as it could sense it. Maybe they have some sort of radar like Earth's bats" Ian said.

"If we cannot catch them, maybe we could eat these instead". Finn came back with a couple of mushrooms in his hands. "The problem is I don't know if these are toxics," he said as he put them down. They looked like normal mushrooms, a white bulbous stipe and a large cap with green and black dots.

"Well, I suggest we only eat them as a last resort. We should sleep now, I don't know what's the battery's lifespan so I'm gonna turn it off.

The survivors soon fell deeply asleep, except Judy. The petite woman was still hungry after her light meal and her painful ankle prevented her from sleeping. Grabbing one of the mushrooms, she sniffed it cautiously before taking a small bite. She expected it to taste bad but it was the opposite. The sweet flavour filled her mouth and without thinking, the hungry woman quickly devoured it. She paused as she grabbed the other mushroom, what if it's toxic? They don't have medicine. But as she bit into the second mushroom, her fears disappeared. Something this good couldn't be toxic she thought, not knowing if she's too tired to think straight or if it's a side effect of eating it. Her hunger satiated, she quickly fell asleep, not noticing the small tingle all over her skin or her ankle's receding pain.