Nerve

"This time, could you not separate from us." Bartek asked Pierrette as we exited the port doors, we were on 220-Assurance's surface.

It was raining on the desert moon; I wish I could feel it on my skin but the depressurization of the suit with skin contact would likely kill me.

We had three days left to fulfill profit quota, and hopefully, if this expedition went well; we would finish today. 

"Pierrette: Then lead the way."

As we began to walk, the realization that finding the facility would be a greater challenge soon came to fruition; everything had begun to look the same. 

"Pierrette: Scan the environment, do not be conservative with it." 

Pierrette went ahead of Bartek and I but kept a visible distance so that we wouldn't lose sight of her. Soon, we found a large pipeline that intersected the valley. 

"Strange, maybe we find entrance if we follow that, eh?" Bartek said.

Pierrette looked back, hearing him mention the pipeline and nodded; we all began to follow it where it led to the left. 

As we followed the pipeline from underneath, we found a pinch point in between two of the towering rocks. It looked safe, so I went ahead-

But I soon began to quickly sink, my feet were stuck in the mud below. 

"Quicksand!" I shouted, frantically trying to escape its grasp. 

Bartek rushed over to where I was and stopped right before where the quicksand began. He stretched out his hand, trying to pull me out from where I was. 

I grabbed it and he pulled as hard as he could, but even with his strength the quicksand wasn't letting go. 

It felt like lead molding onto my feet, the rain fall was like the cause of it forming today on the moon. Why didn't I think of that? Why did I think because the hazard rating was so low, this would be an easy mission. 

I looked at Bartek and felt the same wave of anxiety I felt when we witnessed Oscar's death. The helplessness of it, watching one of your friends die and you couldn't do a single thing about it. 

"Pierrette: Do not struggle, it'll speed up the process." 

Pierrette typed, she then ran over to my left and stretched out her hand as well. 

Two anchor points! 

I lunged forward, bending my body as far as I could to reach both her hand and keep my grip on Bartek's. She managed to grab my hand by my finger and quickly fastened her grip onto my wrist. 

I did what she asked, staying still as they began to pull from their position. And as if solving a puzzle, I began to be pulled out- beating the speed of the quicksand. 

"Success!" Bartek cried as I was dumped out and onto the solid ground. 

I looked up at the sky and felt the sharpness of my breath. The rain fell onto my visor, it's tapping felt rhythmic- although I knew it was completely random. 

"Pierrette: Circle around the quicksand, I believe the entrance is near."

Her words made sense, but to me, someone who had just nearly died to the trap; they stung. 

I got up and brushed my suit off. I checked our clock; it was 11:50AM.

"Thank you." I said to the both of them. 

"No worries, friend." Bartek clapped me on the back. 

But Pierrette said nothing as she led the way around the quicksand through the pinch point. 

---

"It looks exactly the same as the last moon." I said, surprised by the identicality of the inner lobby of the facility of the moon. 

There were three doorways, but one was sectioned off in the same exact haphazard manner. 

"I do not like this place." Bartek said, he looked down every doorway peering into the dark of each one. 

"Pierrette: Let's move quickly." Pierrette said, she went straight ahead motioning us to follow. 

As we followed her, we found ourselves in a section that had multiple paths that formed a sort of maze. 

"Ah, found something." I said, as my scanner picked up what looked like a key on the floor.

It was small and made of what looked like brass, I held it in my hand. 

"Pierrette: Hold onto that, it could be useful." 

"This is strange. Where is all of the salvage?" Bartek asked, and he was right; so far, we hadn't managed to find anything as of yet. 

"Pierrette: I hear skittering."

I looked around, skittering? I couldn't hear it. But then, out at the edge of a corridor, I saw a pair of glowing red eyes. 

"What the hell is that!" I shouted, alerting the other two. 

I used my scanner, and it informed me that the creature's information was uploaded to the terminal back on the ship; completely useless. 

"Pierrette: It's a hoarding bug, no wonder we haven't found salvage." 

Pierrette slammed her fist against the wall, it was solid concrete, so it made no noise other than a thud. 

"Hoarding bug? This insect alone is hiding all of the moon's salvage?" Bartek groaned.

"Pierrette: It's likely that it isn't just one." 

"We have no tools to handle this, I think we should leave." I asked, if we couldn't fulfill quota here then we could try our luck tomorrow. 

"Pierrette: They tend to huddle together, the likelihood of this entire facility being their domain is low. Meaning, there should still be some salvage stowed away safe from their territory here." 

"How do you know so much?" I asked, but Pierrette didn't answer. 

"Pierrette: Let's leave this section and go back to the lobby." 

We retreated back to the entrance's lobby, keeping a close eye on the hoarding bug watching us leave.