River knew she needed to find a way around the ship without being seen. These creatures were huge compared to her, Star, and Jo. Looking up, she noticed a series of platforms leading to the ventilation system. If she could get to it unseen she could move through the vents. The creatures were too large to fit in them. Besides, isn’t that what they did in the movies? If she could stay in them she could find her friends and they could hide out until they figured out a way to get off the ship.
Satisfied with her plan she just needed to wait until things calmed down a little. In the meantime, she explored the shuttle for any type of food or drinks and a restroom. Finding a box with what appeared to be emergency rations, she stuffed as much as she felt she could safely carry into her duffle bag. She needed to get ready in case she needed to defend herself. Opening her duffle bag, she pulled out some of the harnesses she used to carry her knives during her performances. She pulled her sweater off placing it in the duffle bag. She might need it later but not while she was climbing. Pulling on a tight long sleeve black form-fitting spandex shirt, she strapped on two of her leather wrist holders which contained seven small knives in each holder. Next, she grabbed her back and chest holder. It criss-crossed her front and back and allowed her to put all types of knives and throwing stars in it including two small swords which fit in an x-formation on her back. Pulling on her belt she had additional small throwing stars in them. She used this belt when she was riding bareback and throwing them at candles lit around the ring. She had maybe twenty-five very sharp throwing stars in it. Last, she pulled out several of her favorite throwing knives and placed them in the inserts she had in her leather boots. Closing the duffle bag, she pulled the straps tight so she could run fast if she needed too.
River waited almost two hours before the shuttle area had become deathly quiet. She watched as the last creature left the area and the lights dimmed. Moving toward the opened ramp which had been left down after their arrival, River stayed as low as possible moving slowly so she could listen for any noises. Grabbing the side of the ramp, she flipped under it so she was covered. Peering out, she moved swiftly when she felt confident she was safe toward the nearest stack of cargo boxes slipping between two of them. She followed the tight corridor between the crates until she was in the shadows under the catwalks leading up to the ventilation system. River turned and grabbed the piping and began climbing. She hoped there was no video surveillance of the area. If so, she should have had company already.
Rolling over the catwalk, she took the stairs up to the highest level before grabbing hold of the piping and climbing it up to the vent. It was small but she wouldn’t have any problems sliding through it. They didn’t even have a grill over it. Holding on to the pipe with both hands she stretched her legs out until she could slide them in then pushed off letting the rest of her body follow. She moved back about ten feet into the vent before she leaned back and took a deep breath to calm her shaking body. She had never been so scared in all her life. The only thing keeping her going was the knowledge Jo and Star had to be even more scared than she was.
River crawled until she reached an intersection in the vent. Here it was high enough she could actually stand up straight. She guessed whoever built it was a lot smaller than the creatures on it now. They would have a hard time crawling as each one of them had to be over eight and a half feet tall and almost as wide. Moving to the left which she hoped with the direction the creatures had headed when they took Jo and Star she followed the ventilation system for hours marking sections as she came to them with a permanent marker. Luckily she had always been good with directions probably because she had traveled so much her whole life. It almost reminded her of the passageways under Paris her, Star, and Jo had explored one summer.
River almost cried out with relief when she saw a schematic of the ship attached to one intersection. Pulling out one of her knives, she pried it off the wall. Sinking down she looked over the map. It looked like there was some type of holding cells two levels up. If she followed the ventilation system another hundred feet to the left there should be a vent leading up to the next level. She needed to do this again at the next level to get to the one she wanted. Sliding the stiff map into her shirt she moved off to the left. Sure enough, she came to a vent that went straight up. It was narrow but it had what looked like foot holds. Grabbing hold of the first rung, River began climbing.
River spent the better part of the next three hours moving through the ventilation system. She had made it to the level with the holding cells. It had taken her longer to climb up to them than she expected. They were much further apart than she expected. Once she had made it to the level she wanted she had paused to rest and get something to drink. At first she was leery of what was in the bottle but on smelling it and then finally taking a sip she was relieved to find it was water. She drank half the bottle before realizing she needed to conserve what she had. Closing her eyes, River felt the fatigue take over her body. She needed to rest before she moved any further. She had been up for over seventy-two hours between arriving back in the States and her long flight and drive. Then there had been the wait in the shuttle until everyone had left. Leaning her head back against the cold metal River felt a shiver run through her body. She had no idea how they were ever going to get home. No one would even begin looking for them for at least three months when they didn’t return from the mountain. By then, who knew where they would be. Shaking off the depressing thoughts, River focused on finding her friends first. She had to make sure they were safe. Her last thought as her body shut down was she would worry about the rest later.