[Jedi Apprentice] - 13(14)

It was a relief to enter the narrow opening of the cave. He could not stand, but the cool sand under his fingers felt good. He shook out his cloak and brushed the sand from his face and hair.

“The cave opens up just ahead. We’ll be able to stand,” he told Siri in a whisper. He was fairly sure that Ona Nobis wasn’t here, but he was prepared to meet her if she was. This time, he would have Siri by his side.

He crawled along the cool, damp sand, feeling his way in the darkness. He saw the small opening ahead and squeezed through. Immediately the air felt different and he knew he was in a larger open space. The blackness turned gray. He waited a moment, then lit his glow rod.

Astri sat against one wall with Cholly, Weez, and Tup. They were tethered together, their wrists and ankles tightly bound. Gags were stuffed in their mouths. Astri’s eyes went wide.

“Don’t worry, it’s me,” Obi-Wan called, in case they had trouble seeing him.

“Mmmmfff!” Astri struggled against the gag. Cholly beat his feet on the floor of the cave.

“All right, I’m coming,” Obi-Wan said, hurrying toward them. He reached toward Astri’s gag even as she attempted to talk.

“Trap!” Astri exhaled the word as Obi-Wan removed the gag.

“Wh - ” Obi-Wan’s question was cut off as he heard a loud rushing noise behind him.

He turned and ran past Siri to the opening. He dropped flat and pushed forward, but it was too late. Sand and rocks were pouring down from overhead, piling up against the cave entrance. There was nothing he could do. Larger rocks spilled down, wedging in against one another tightly. In only moments, the cave opening was sealed and they were buried alive.





CHAPTER 11


Obi-Wan crawled back into the larger cave. He wiped the dust out of his eyes and reached for his comlink.

It didn’t work.

“Siri?”

She shook her head. “Mine doesn’t work, either.”

Astri ran her hands over the stubble that was beginning to grow back on her bare skull. “I’m sorry, Obi-Wan. She left us here to die, but she was hoping you’d find us. When you crawled through, you tripped a slow-acting lever that deposited all that debris.”

Obi-Wan nodded. He felt foolish for once again walking into a trap. He had never told Qui-Gon about Ona Nobis’s hideout. There hadn’t been time. He had told Tahl, but he hadn’t given her coordinates. Everything had happened too fast. And now no one knew where they were.

Siri had freed Cholly, Weez, and Tup. Tup groaned as he stretched his legs. “I’m so hungry.”

“You won’t be for long,” Weez said.

Tup brightened. “There’s food?”

“No, idiot. Because soon we’ll be dead,” Weez snarled.

Tup paled. “You don’t have to be so negative. Woosh. We’re with Jedi. They can do anything.”

Cholly had crawled forward to peer through the opening to the cave-in. “They can’t tunnel through a rock,” he said.

“You’re not dead yet,” Siri told them. “Come on, Obi-Wan, let’s see if we can cut through those rocks with our lightsabers.”

Obi-Wan followed Siri back into the narrow portion of the cave. They crawled forward. There was just enough room to crouch side by side. They activated their lightsabers and sliced through the rocks.

The rocks crumbled into sand, which filled up the spaces, packing the landslide even tighter.

“This isn’t going to work,” Obi-Wan said. He sat back and deactivated his lightsaber. He wiped the dirt off his face with his sleeve. “Now you get to say ‘I told you so.”

Siri sat down beside him. She dusted the sand off her tunic with her hands. “If you say that again,” she muttered, “I’ll hit you. There’s got to be another way. Maybe she has tools in the cave.”

“I’m sure she removed them. Ona Nobis plans for everything.”

With a grunt, Siri flipped over and began to crawl back to the cave. “Maybe she doesn’t know it’s a tool.”

Intrigued, Obi-Wan crawled behind her. They stood upright as soon as they reached the big cave. Siri found two more glow rods and lit them. They prowled around the cave, pawing through the bins in which Ona Nobis kept survival gear and protein packs.

“Can I help?” Astri asked. “What are we looking for?”

“Tools,” Obi-Wan said. “Something to dig with.”

Astri sighed. “Ona Nobis hauled out a bin of tools when she left. She didn’t leave anything. Not food or water, either.”

Siri sat back on her haunches. “We can’t dig with our hands. We’ll never get out.”

A slight whimper from Tup ended in a howl as Cholly kicked him.