Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [30]
Immediately, he began to regret it. They could have taken a stand and fought the Kazon, instead of crawling like insects through this fetid passageway. Brambles snagged at his hair, and he couldn't see a foot ahead. It was moist and hot in there; a dank steam rose from the decaying sludge and the stench was worse than ever. He forced himself to think of Kes, her delicate beauty and her gentle touch, and it helped him to stave off the queasiness he was feeling from being trapped in this hot, smelly enclosure.
He put his hand down in a pile of slime that seemed to be a mixture of fur, bone, and runny gelatin. He didn't want to think what it might once have been. He concentrated on moving steadily forward, inch by reeking inch, hearing behind him the crew, gamely following his lead. He heard a soft, chafing sound, as though heavy rope were being pulled along the ground, and he turned quickly, shining his beacon into the impenetrable undergrowth. He had a brief impression of slitted eyes that disappeared as the light hit them. Even though he was sweating in the hot, foul air, he was suddenly chilled to the bone. He stepped up his pace. Eventually, the narrow confines of the tunnel seemed to widen, and soon he was able to crawl without nasty thistles ripping his face and hands. The air seemed slightly cooler. Then he was able to lift his head up, and finally to get to his hands and knees and eventually to stand upright. The tunnel had given way to a wide, canopied passageway, even more spacious than the one they had first entered. Neelix felt like breathing deeply for the first time since they had penetrated this uninviting forest; he turned as the others began emerging from the tunnel, grateful and gasping. When the last one had crawled free, Neelix lifted his phaser. "Kale, LeFevre, Hutchinson, train your phasers on that thicket. We can make it a little tougher for the Kazon to follow us." Phaser to ire collapsed the tunnel, and Neelix smiled to think of the Kazon trying to find their way out of the rancid tunnel.
Ahead less than half a kilometer they could see a small flash of sunlight-the end of the trek through the dense copse of trees and overgrowth. Tuvok's group was beyond, just minutes away now. Neelix waved the group forward and, with a lighter step, they made their way toward the glint of light. Then something began dropping from the trees.
Neelix sensed, rather than felt, a heavy weight plummet through the air behind him; barely brushing the back of his head and then thudding onto the ground. Puzzled, he turned around in time to see a dark coil enclosing LeFevre's shoulders, heard LeFevre's sudden gasp and then a strangled cry of distress. Neelix had time to register only a dark, serpentine shape before he realized more of them were dropping from the trees, directly onto the hapless crew, hissing fiercely, an awful, caustic sound that heightened the terror of the sudden attack.
And the smell was dreadful. These creatures were the source of the putrefying odor they'd been smelling since they entered the forest, and the viscous fluid that they extruded from long, tubular snouts was a miasma of death and decay. Neelix felt his gorge rise, and he fought a wave of nausea.
He saw LeFevre struggling against tightening coils, hands groping desperately to find the long head that darted just out of his reach. Neelix lifted his phaser, afraid he'd hit LeFevre if he used it. The young man made a strangled cry of pain, and Neelix realized the reptile had encircled him and was crushing his ribs.
The tubelike head of the creature swung into Neelix' vision; ancient, glittering eyes caught his briefly, before Neelix pointed the phaser and blasted directly into those