It was dark, but Moriarty’s eyes adjusted quickly and it reminded him of his home planet, where darkness was normal. They were in a tunnel that was maybe one foot too short for Dave, so he crouched and led the way. With bended-knee strides, it was easier for Moriarty to keep up. After twists and turns and one-off paths and makeshift tunnels, a light appeared in the distance. It was orange-ish white and reminded Moriarty of the fire from his crash landing. He hoped this time it would be for a better cause. As they walked closer, the light grew brighter and more orange, which Moriarty thought was weird. Dave paused without warning again and this time Moriarty ran into him, in a combination of being distracted by the light and not knowing where he was going.
“Ugh,” Moriarty groaned as his face slammed into a leg full of fur.
“Sorry,” Dave said. “Are you okay?”
“Please let me know next time you plan on stopping.”
“I will, but we’re almost there. I just want to let you know that they’ll probably ask you a lot of questions. Probably the younger ones.”
“That’s okay,” Moriarty replied. “What should I tell them?”
“You can tell them the truth.”
“Okay,” Moriarty said.
“And,” Dave continued. “Can everyone call you ‘Mo’?”
Moriarty thought about it. He didn’t necessarily care. Moriarty was just a nickname already, so if everyone wanted to call him a shorter nickname for another nickname, it didn’t make a difference to him. “Sure,” he said.
“Great.” Dave kept walking forward toward the light, and Mo followed again.
The small, narrow, short-ish hallway opened up into a giant underground cavern. Rocks dripped off the walls, and if Mo remembered right from his study of geology, they were called stalagmites. Or icicles. He couldn’t keep those straight. Bright orange and white lights lit-up the walls and danced around the rocks. In the center of the room, huddled around the fire, were at least a dozen other Bigfeet. Some short compared to the others, others taller than Dave. All their heads turned simultaneously when Mo and Dave walked in. Mo felt hot all of the sudden and didn’t understand what was happening. He forced a smile and waved.
“What’s that!?” A smaller-than-normal, less hairy Bigfoot waved from behind a tall, lumbering, much more intimidating Bigfoot. The larger one tried to cover the smaller one’s mouth with its oversized hand.
“Sorry,” The larger one said.
Dave stepped forward. “I’d like everyone to meet Mo.”
The group of Bigfeet remained silent. The crackling of the fire was the only thing Mo could hear.
“He needs our help,” Dave said. He walked forward and motioned for Mo to follow him, so Mo followed him. They reached the circle of Bigfeet, that expanded when Mo got close. The smaller, noisier Bigfoot was quiet now that Mo was close, and not so small, still towering over Mo, but less so than some others. Dave sat down on a rock, and so now Mo felt like he should do the same, but there were no more rocks to choose from. Mo sat down on the sandy ground, but he wasn’t sure what to do with his legs. He flailed around a bit before finally settling on crossing them and sitting on top of them. It was a weird feeling, and he got weird looks from all the Bigfeet around the circle, including Dave. Mo forced a smile again.
“Mo,” Dave said. “Why are you here?”
Mo went on to tell them about his mission, how it got out of control, and he was forced to crash land on Earth. He told them about waking up on a cold table about to be surgically sliced apart (which was probably too gory for the little Bigfeet), and about how he was being chased by people who wanted him dead or alive. He also mentioned the bear that chased him.
He made sure to express gratitude for offering help during his time of need.
Dave stood up. “You can stay here for a while to help get your thoughts together.”
“Thanks,” Mo said. He wasn’t sure exactly what he needed, but he’d be sure to put some thought into it. If only he could remember his technical training he’d be better off, because then he’d know how to rebuild his ship. All he remembered now was how in class he was too preoccupied by counting the green clouds pass in the sky, and wished he would have paid more attention.