Connelly placed her hand on his facemask and stared into his eyes. She leaned in, placing their heads together. Close up, their eyes were locked on each other. "Look at my eyes. Look past the color, Robert." She took his gloved hand and squeezed. "I'm me. And if we don't move now, there will never be an us."

Willard clapped his hands on each of their shoulders. "Awesome. That's great. Seriously. Let's go now."

"An us?" Robert asked.

Connelly nodded. "If we live."

Robert stepped back from her. "Lead the way."

Connelly turned to the two aliens who were standing like sentinels by the entryway, their arms undulating gently. "Follow them."

The group was led through a winding series of tunnels that ranged from wide open to congested squeezes. The creatures moved through the tunnels with a grace and speed despite their bulk. Stretching their sticky-tipped arms out, they'd clasp onto a distant wall or outcrop and then lifted their thick toed feet from the ground. They propelled themselves forward in a constant and never ending slingshot motion. Connelly and the others struggled to keep up, and several times the creatures stopped and waited patiently. They moved through the yellow tunnels that Connelly recognized from their previous travels.

After clearing the yellow tunnels, the two aliens stopped dead and held a more guarded stance.

"What do they want?" Willard ask.

"We're taking point from here," Connelly said. "They're not coming for the whole trip." Connelly moved to the front with Robert and Willard close behind. She led them through three more tunnels, which were blessedly vacant of any creeps. At the end of the third tunnel was a bright red glow.

The cavern.

Connelly paused twenty feet from the exit. Robert was next to her, his eyes trained on the tunnel opening. "Why haven't we been spotted yet? We're in creep territory."

"The blues are blocking our presence from the creeps. But it won't hold once we enter the cavern," Connelly said.

Willard crouched next to them. "I think you're right about that territory theory. I don't think the big guys are supposed to be here either."

Robert glanced at Willard. "Why's that?"

"They bugged out."

Robert looked back. The two aliens were gone. He could feel Connelly's smile before he saw it. "They're still there, aren't they?"

Connelly nodded. "But we're on our own from here. Ready?"

Robert nodded.

"Last one's a rotten egg," Willard said.

"Hold on," Connelly said.

Robert crinkled his nose. "For what?"

A pressure wrapped around the three of them. Two shimmering appendages struck out and clasped onto the end of the tunnel. The realization of what was about to happen struck Willard and Robert simultaneously.

"Oh crap," Willard said.

"Damnable hell," Robert managed to say before the nearly invisible alien lifted its feet from the cave surface and catapulted them into the cave.