Journey to the Heart of Luna - Andy Frankham-Allen [43]
Stevenson was the first to remove his own helmet and he too inhaled deeply. “Ah! Finally, fresh air!”
“We are now exactly a mile beneath the surface of Luna.” Annabelle’s smile faded. “Which is usually where the danger begins.” She cocked the carbine and offered a grim smile to Bedford and the rest of his team, now free of their helmets. “There are other things besides Selenites down here, and not all of them are friendly.”
2.
“AN INSECT that talks! This is fascinating.” Nathanial stepped past Folkard, only now having eyes for the large, rusty-looking ant before him.
“Professor,” Folkard said, reaching out an arm for Nathanial, “stand back! We are surrounded!”
Nathanial pulled against Folkard’s grip. “Captain, this is absolutely fascinating! Don’t you see, in some ways their evolution must have matched ours, how else could they have developed vocal chords? They clearly differ from the ants of our world.”
“Clearly, Professor, for I have never seen an ant the size of a small man on Earth! I have no truck with this theory of evolution, either. This creature is obviously a creation of God. Although,” he added, with a narrowed look at the ant, “perhaps the work of the Devil is closer.”
“Superstitious nonsense, Captain!” With an abrupt tug, Nathanial removed his arm and continued on, lantern held out before him. “You will not harm us, will you?”
The giant insect looked at him, with curiosity, Nathanial thought. “We hurt not. Selenites live peace.”
“Selenites,” Nathanial repeated. The word sounded familiar to him. “Of course!” he said, with a click of the fingers. He looked back at Folkard. The captain still had his carbine aimed at the copper Selenite, while Ainsworth continued to cover the darker ants that blocked their path up the tunnel. “Annabelle mentioned them to me in one of her letters. Doctor Grant met them on his previous expedition.”
The copper Selenite shuffled forward. “You know gooddoctor?”
“Good doctor? You mean Cyrus Grant?” The insect seemed to nod in response. Nathanial thought for a moment. “As opposed to the bad doctor…Yes! Tereshkov!”
“He hurt we Selenites. Gooddoctor and batch relation help us.”
Nathanial noticed that the Selenite had lowered its weapon. He smiled. “Yes, we are friends of gooddoctor. We have come to help him.”
“Friend Annabelle find you?”
“Erm, yes,” Nathanial said, and added to himself, in a manner of speaking.
The Selenite studied Nathanial for a moment. Was it possible that the insect was that adept at reading human facial expressions? Nathanial could not help but be excited by this revelation. Not only intelligent insects, but intuitive ones, too. Nathanial offered his best, and most trusting, smile. The Selenite made a strange buzzing sound, which was repeated by the darker Selenites further up the tunnel.
“We help you.” The Selenite offered up its rifle to Nathanial. “I K’chuk.”
“Excellent! I am Nathanial Stone, and this resolute gentleman is Captain Folkard. The man behind him is Able Seaman Ainsworth. We would be most happy of your help.”
Nathanial watched as K’chuk shuffled its way up the tunnel towards its fellows, brushing past Folkard and Ainsworth with a “sorry”. Polite, too! Was this a natural inclination, or something learned from exposure to humans? Nathanial could not wait to find out. K’chuk was now deep in conversation with the other Selenites. Nathanial walked over to join Folkard, who was looking at the Selenites with some bemusement.
“Professor, what just happened?”
“I believe we have got our first allies on Luna, Captain.”
“Good Lord!” Folkard looked to Nathanial and laughed.
3.
“ARE YOU certain that was a good idea, sir?”
Bedford looked back at the discarded atmosphere suits. “Necessary rather than good, Stevenson. If we are to encounter