Extreme Difference by D. B. Reynolds-Moreton Read Free Book Online Page A

he lied, trying to sound mumblely. ‘I couldn’t possibly eat any more just now.’
    Mop’s greasy fingers groped around his face trying to find his mouth, and having done so, forced the berries in.
    Sandy gagged, but managed to hold the stew in its place for the time being, emitting a grunt as his head went back and banged against the cold stone wall in the process.
    Mop, sensing that high jinks of a sensuous nature were not on the menu that night, reluctantly heaved her not inconsiderable mass back onto her feet, bruising his trapped arm as she put her full weight on it.
    ‘See you in the morning, Sandy.’ she purred, and shuffled away into the gloom.
    The three supplicationary berries flew explosively out of his mouth to splatter themselves on the opposite wall as he let out the breath he had been holding for so long.
    Luckily the stew remained where it was in his stomach, mainly because he was doubled over, and it could not find an easy means of escape.
    The heady aroma of his amorous visitor lingered on for some time, and he wondered how he could institute compulsory washing in the future. Something would have to be done, even if it meant plugging his nostrils and breathing through his mouth.
    Eventually sleep came, taking him out of one nightmare situation, and depositing him into another, complete with sounds and smells.
    Sandy awoke next morning with a thick head, a foul temper, and the decision that after he had scrubbed himself clean, the bed linen would get a good boil, along with the rest of the troglodytes.
    He made his way to the main cavern where a jovial Ben was patiently awaiting him.
    ‘You look a bit shattered!’ If nothing else, Ben was observant. ‘Didn’t you sleep well?’ he asked solicitously.
    ‘Don’t ask,’ a grumpy Sandy replied, ‘life has become a bloody nightmare since I’ve been here, and I'm sure it wasn’t always this way.’
    ‘What do you mean, always?  You were only created a short time ago. Life has always been like this, you’ll get used to it soon enough. It’s just a matter of accepting the routine we have here.’
    ‘Wouldn’t bet on that,’ he replied grumpily, ‘anyway, surely you don’t believe you were ‘created’ out on the sands? Come on, think about it, where did you learn to speak, to remember the very words you use? That has to come from somewhere else. This ‘creation’ stuff is a load of s...’ at that moment Nan came into the cavern.
    ‘Ah, hoped to catch you two. This poking about in the gas generating cave, I’m not really happy about it. You might destroy the whole system, and then we would have no lights. Why do you really want to do it? Surely the fact that it works is enough, so what do you hope to prove?’ Nan was visibly agitated, having spent half the night thinking about it, and fearful of the status quo being upset beyond his control.
    ‘Oh it’s nothing much really,’ Sandy responded, trying to sound casual, and failing, ‘I’m just curious how so small a plant can supply so much gas, and at a constant pressure.’
    ‘Well it does, so why question it?’ replied Nan, seeing the argument slipping out of his control, once again.
    ‘Don’t worry, we’ll not harm it, just want to see how it works. We’ll tell you what we find out, if anything, and then you’ll know a little bit more about this place.’

Defence and Attack
    R ealizing that Sandy would do his investigation of the gas plant one way or another, Nan reluctantly gave in to his persistent attitude, insisting that he did not fiddle with anything he did not understand, in a last vain attempt to assume some degree of authority.
    ‘Jez is helping Bell plant up some new growing bins, so he’ll be out of your way for a while. Don’t take too long though,’ Nan said as he left the cavern, ‘he'll not like you messing about with his equipment.’
    ‘I don’t think Nan liked that,’ Ben said a little timidly, as they left the despondent Nan, ‘he didn’t look