Escape From The Caves Of Meranda IV

By popular request, this post is a sequel to one I wrote in Freewriters a couple of days ago - 24 January 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2626: Mother Love

At the end of the last post, I noted in the comments that I'd flip a coin to see what happened. Heads I write the story of how they got out of there and said "no colony !" Tails they didn't get out and I write the story of the fate of the colony.

It came up heads 😁

The cavern was filled with the sound of quiet scuttling feet. Lots of them.

Franzel and Helen cowered in their crevice, frozen with fear. Looming over everything was the monstrous form of the scuttling creatures' mother. Or parent, if that's what it was. The two scientist-scouts hadn't exactly had the chance to ask it about the breeding habits of unexpected local alpha-predators.

The egg that had looked like a boulder was empty now, it's hatched inhabitants crawling in a circle of increasing diameter as they explored their new world. Each one was a fraction of the size of the colossus dominating the scene. Their heads were the size of a large orange, but they had just as many legs, spikes and spines as their parent.

A pair of forelegs groped round the corner of the crevice, tentatively exploring. One found Helen's boot, stroking it in a manner which would be tender if it wasn't so obscene and alien.

Franzel grabbed a fist-sized rock from the ground, raising it high above his head to strike at the little creature invading their sanctuary. Helen grabbed his arm swiftly, shaking her head silently.

Lowering the rock warily, but keeping it ready in his hand, Franzel watched as the probing limb was withdrawn and the creature moved off, disappearing out of sight among the debris littering the cavern floor.

Looking up, he saw the huge creature staring right at them, a slow blink working it's way across four of the eyes on the front of it's head-body, each black orb in turn flickering shut then open in sequence. It could clearly see them, but made no move to strike.

Franzel wondered if they had just passed some kind of test. A test Helen had understood on an instinctive level and he'd completely missed. She'd known that the strongest urge of a parent was to protect it's young. He shuddered to think what would have happened if he'd bought the rock down.

"We need to go," he whispered as quietly as he possibly could. Helen nodded almost imperceptibly. "Slowly," she replied.

He dropped the rock and under the watchful eyes of the towering arachnid-like alien they gradually eased themselves out of the crevice. Moving very slowly and carefully they headed towards the passage they'd entered by. They didn't dare use a torch; the only light was a dim phosphorescence from streaks of algae on the cave walls.

A few of the young were still moving around in the huge cavern. Franzel and Helen carefully avoided them, slowing to let them pass at a respectable distance on a couple of occasions.

As they entered the passage out of the cave, they saw the alien crouch down, re-arrange it's legs in a way no normal animal should be able to, and follow them. They wouldn't have thought it possible for such a big creature to fit, but it did. Four of it's legs were pushed ahead of it like barbed spears, and behind them were a dozen or more eyes watching every step they took.

It wasn't rushing them, it was shepherding them. But they knew that if it changed it's mind, they would be dead in an instant. Coming to an intersection, they were forced to stop and activate their homing device. It was the only way, they were hopelessly lost without it. The monster drew closer as they did, rattling it's forelimbs threateningly.

For three hours, this was the pattern. Helen and Franzel followed the directions given by their homing devices and the creature followed them at a steady pace, driving them onward relentlessly. By the time they emerged from the arch of a great cavemouth into the harsh white daylight of Meranda IV's surface they were exhausted, physically and mentally.

As they blinked in the bright light, the beast unfolded itself and stepped forth from the cave. The hope that it was a denizen of the dark places withered in the bright starlight. This monster was at home anywhere on the planet it ruled.

With a sudden rush, it moved to stand in front of them. It raised a massive, horribly barbed leg, and they shied back.

Then it placed the tip into the sandy earth and moved it. With shock, they saw it was writing words. Somehow, this thing must have picked up the few words they'd spoken, connected them with the words displayed on the homing device screen. It was intelligent. Highly intelligent.

The words were simple.

"Go. No come back."

Two hours later, they arrived back at base camp. Immediately they headed for Expedition Commander Whiltzer's cabin. A simple affair converted from a shipping container. It wasn't guarded, so Franzel simply knocked on the door and they walked in.

The Commander was sitting at his desk, microphone in hand dictating a report into his terminal.

"Sir," Helen blurted out, "We have to stop the colony and quarantine Meranda IV ! It's inhabited by intelligent life. Dangerous intelligent life."

Whiltzer looked up. "Lieutenant, all the other scout teams have reported in and found nothing of concern. You're two days overdue. It's too late, the final review was submitted yesterday."

Sighing heavily, the Commander continued. "You know the pressure we're under. Colony Central is desperate to find worlds for the excess over-population. The colony ships were sent on their way a long time ago, and now it is past the window where we could divert them elsewhere."

"In a year's time, Meranda IV will be a thriving first stage colony. Now go and get some rest, we lift off in six hours."