Exploration is not a dangerous job, right?

« Damn it is hot here » Howard groaned as he whipped sweat from his brow for what felt like the hundredth time since he left the pods. Jill, Amos and himself were walking along the foot of the cliff for a few hours, looking for a passage leading outside the caldeira but so far their quest had been fruitless. The ground was shaking occasionally, reminding them of the danger of this place, Amos constantly looking upward, fearing the fall of some rocks from the cliff. Ivan, Rhonda, Lin and Mark had stayed in their improvised base while Tom, Karl and Timothy were looking for the last escape pod.

« I’m starting to really hate this place you know? » Jill answered, before stopping abruptly. « Look, » he said, his arm pointed in front of him, « there’s something here ».

« Looks like a cavern. Maybe it can be a way out this shithole. »

« I’m not sure about this » Amos responded to Jill’s statement. « It can be dangerous, maybe we should… »

« We should just wait until the volcano erupt ?! Look man, I’m not happy about this too but you heard Rhonda? We don’t have time, this place is dangerous everywhere so we don’t have a choice ».

« Ok Howard, calm down, let’s take a look, » Jill said, putting her hand on his large shoulders. His friend’s always had a short temper and she didn’t want him to throw a tantrum here.

*******

« Did you see an exit? » Jill yelled at the others as she came back from a gallery who appeared to be a dead-end. It’s been half an hour since they began to explore the inside of the cave but so far they only found a few collapsed tunnels.

« Nothing here, » Amos said as he joined Jill into the largest part of the cavern.

« Me too, this cavern only have one exit apparently, « Howard said as he came back. « But I found these near some fumaroles. Believe it or not but there is life here, well at least plants. »Indeed, his arms were full of some strange-looking fruits.

« Reminds me of coconuts, » Amos said as he grabbed one. The dark, solid shell of the fruit was smooth, like a large pebble.

« Do you think it’s edible? » Jill asked. « Hey, maybe there’s water inside, like a real coconut! » To verify her theory, she grabbed one and began to shake it near her ear. « I hear something, there’s water inside. »

« Great, I could really use a drink, I’m parched and the tiny ration Mark gave us is not enough, » Howard said.

« We’re not sure it’s edible, it can be toxic. We should bring these to the camp, maybe the smarty-pants could help ».

« Maybe » Jill sighed. The short mohawked woman had always followed her instinct before but since the crash, she was unsure of what to do and stuck more with Howard who, despite his short temper had more experience than her.

« I think we should go now, the night will end soon and I don’t want to be outside during the day, » Amos said. Soon, the trio was walking toward the exit, their arms full of fruits. They had the end of the tunnel in sight when they felt the earth tremble beneath their feet. Clearly, an earthquake when you’re in a cavern is one of the worst things that could happen to you. That was what Jill was thinking before everything in the tunnel went dark.

*******

« Did you feel this one? » Ivan asked his colleague.

« Yes, strong but short, it’s bad news » Rhonda answered as she typed on her tablet. « They become more and more frequent, probably means that the magma chamber beneath us is filling fast. I hope the others are okay. »