Chapter 25
Calypsta
The Rendezvous Point
"Want to play cards?" Quinn asked with a hopeful expression as he plopped into a control station. The stolen Taleari vessel was not as large as a typical military ship, but it could accommodate a small garrison if necessary. "I found a deck of Barrea cards in the back."
''With you?'' Garrett's blond brow rose a fraction. "No, thanks. You cheat."
"You’ll never prove that," Quinn pointed out matter-of-factly. He started to shuffle the cards. "Come on. It will be fun."
"Forget it," Garrett grumbled. He threw his boots up onto the console and leaned back. Fidgeting, he crossed his legs, uncrossed them, then crossed them the other way. No matter what position he tried, he just couldn't get comfortable. “And watch your membrane.”
Quinn glanced at his palm with a frown. The membrane appeared fine. "How about if I promise to let you win?"
Garrett shook his head in marvel. ''What part of forget it did you fail to understand?"
“Alright. I get it. You are boring." Quinn chucked the cards against his palm in a rough shuffle. "No need to get snippy."
Quinn continued to shuffle the cards in silence.
Garrett slid his boots off the control console, tucked his vaporizer into a pocket and stood.
"I can't sit here any longer. Let’s go outside and check out the terrain.
" They had been sitting there for what seemed like days, he was bored, uncomfortable, his ass was starting to go numb, not to mention the fact that if Quinn shuffled that deck one more time, he would strangle him.
Garrett headed towards the rear of the ship. The landing plank cranked open, and he strode into the blaring sunlight.
Having nothing better to do, Quinn tossed the well-shuffled deck on the control panel and followed Garrett outside. The landing plank lifted and closed behind him.
Laid out before them stretched a sea of tall grass surrounded by a tree line filled with magnificent trees and lush tropical vegetation.
Further in the distance, sweeping green mountains rose and fell in sharp angles.
Above, deep blue scattered with puffy white clouds that drifted in the sky.
The amber Taleari moon rose high and proud above the distant peaks.
"Wow, this planet is incredible.”
"Come on, let’s go and have a better look.” Garrett entered the field of knee-high grass, heading towards the nearest clump of trees.
Quinn paused. "Hey, Odin instructed us to stay here. In case they try to contact us.”
"Since when do you listen to Odin?"
Quinn considered that, then hurried after Garrett, who was twenty paces ahead.
They reached the edge of the tree line, a natural division between two contrasting environments.
On one side stretched a sweeping field, with a warm breeze that rustled the tips of the grass.
On the other side loomed the jungle, an impenetrable wall of dense shadows, towering vine-laden trees and sprawling canopies.
"There are some interesting flowers on this planet," Quinn noted while he inspected a clump of huge yellow and white blooms clinging to twisting vines. He leaned forward and inhaled the flower’s exotic fragrance. A second later, his eyes began to water. He sneezed.
"Yes, I just wish Kendra were here under different circumstances." Garrett ran his fingers across a large velvet leaf. "I think she would really love all of this plant life."
"Maybe after we gut Reyne, we can loiter for a while. Let her enjoy this beauty before we head back to Armathea." Quinn sneezed again, and again. Tears burned his eyes.
Garrett shook his head. "Odin’s instructions were specific. We are to head back to Armathea immediately. Speaking about heading back, I think it’s probably time. We have been out here for a while now.”
“Since when do you listen to Odin?’ Quinn asked with another eye-watering sneeze.
Garrett rolled his eyes, then headed towards the stolen ship.
Halfway through the sweeping field, they encountered a small group of odd furry creatures. Leaning on their rear haunches, heads cocked to the side, the weasel-like critters stared at them with curious golden-yellow eyes.
Quinn paused to study them. They had long slender bodies with brown silky fur.
They were about two-and-a-half feet in length with short stubby legs, claws and long spiky whiskers that surrounded a dark velvety nose.
They were kind of cute. "I don't think I have ever seen creatures like these before, you? "
"No." One of the strange creatures approached Garrett and began sniffing his boot.
"Go on, shoo." Garrett nudged the creature with the tip of his boot, but the critter ignored him and continued to sniff with its fat brown nose scrunching and un-scrunching. "If this oversized vermin pisses on me, I'm going to blast it into a million pieces.”
Quinn took one look at Garrett’s annoyed expression and let loose a laugh. He laughed even harder when a second creature began sniffing Garrett's other boot. "What if they both piss on you? You going to blast them both?"
''Damn right...ouch." One creature jumped up and chomped down on Garrett's hand with sharp teeth. ''Damn fucker just bit me." Garrett tugged his weapon free from the wide, silken belt and aimed it at the bloodthirsty little beast. "Bite me again and you're a goner."
The creature perked up and cocked its head with interest, its stubby front legs dangling.
Quinn hooted, hollered, slapped his thighs, and bent over in a fit of hysterical laughter.
"Oh, this is fucking priceless." He was laughing so hard that he failed to notice the creatures taking an interest in his leg.
''The mighty Garrett is afraid of a harmless rodent.
" Yet, all traces of humor died a moment later when that same seemingly harmless rodent-like creature jumped up and bit him in the thigh, its pointy teeth penetrating the material of his Taleari uniform.
"Why you vicious little..." Quinn kicked the creature hard, sending it flying with a high-pitched squawk. It landed somewhere in the field and scampered away with a whimper and disappeared into the tall grass. ''Let’s get back to the ship."
Still aiming his weapon at the creature closest to him, Garrett nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think you're right, come on."
Together, they both began to penetrate the swarm of creatures, then halted, frozen by the sight before them. The field ahead was littered with at least fifty—perhaps more—of the ferocious creatures, all staring at them with identical expressions of curiosity.
As Garrett and Quinn stood motionless, gaping at the endless sea of golden-yellow eyes, a group of critters approached them, surrounding them. A beat later, a bunch of them began a ravenous attack.
They sunk their teeth into their boots. Their legs. Their thighs. Others jumped up, nipping at their hands and scratching their arms with sharp needle-like claws.
Pistol fire echoed as Garrett began shooting.
Quinn tried to kick them off.
Only for every one they got rid of, two more took their place, each more bloodthirsty than the one that came before.
"Where do they keep coming from?" Quinn huffed in exasperation. He tugged his pistol free and began firing. Several fell into dead heaps next to his boot.
"Damned if I know." One almost bit Garrett in the groin and he retreated, covering himself. "Fuck this. We are outnumbered." He fired at several more of them. Several more came at him.
They both turned and fled back towards the tree line.
Hordes chased them, nipping at their retreating heels as they ran for the closest clump of tall trees. Garrett grabbed the first sturdy-looking tree he reached and pulled himself into the branches. "I sure hope they can't climb."
Quinn leapt into a tree a few feet away. The trees were all tall and skinny and swayed slightly from their weight but had plenty of protruding branches to climb and latch onto. "I hope this damn tree doesn't fall over."
Several creatures jumped up at them, bearing razor-sharp teeth.
Within minutes, the bases of both trees were surrounded by creatures.
Dozens of them. All sitting on their hind legs, unmoving, staring up at them with large golden-yellow eyes, appearing to patiently wait for one of them to fall.
Every several minutes or so, one would leap at them, their sharp claws scraping against the bark as they slid back to the ground.
Luckily, they couldn’t climb trees.
Or jump very high.
''This is just great." Garrett muttered and he folded his arms over a protruding limb for support. "How the hell are we going to get back into the ship?''
"Um, we...ahh...aren't," Quinn confessed, peering at his palm in gaping horror. The membrane was peeling in several different places. The delicate layer must have been damaged during his desperate climb into the tree covered with rough bark.
Garrett's icy blue eyes narrowed on Quinn. "If you dare tell me you ruined the membrane, I swear, I will personally feed you to the pack of bloodthirsty vermin down there and delight in watching them slowly nibble you to death."
Quinn didn't need to answer.
His guilty expression said it all.
Garrett clenched his jaw and kicked Quinn's tree. The entire tree started rattling, branches and all, forcing Quinn to tighten his grip or be shaken to the ground.
Most of the creatures moved to surround the base of Quinn's tree.
Glancing down, Quinn swore one of the hungry critters just licked its mouth in anticipation of a tasty meal. He glared at Garrett. ''Stop doing that. This tree isn't stable."
Garrett kicked the tree again. ''I told them not to let you wear the membrane." He kicked. ''I warned them you were going to screw this up.” He kicked again. “But did anyone listen to me? Of course not. And look what happened." He landed three more fierce kicks.
Quinn attempted to kick Garrett's tree in retaliation; however, he couldn't quite reach.
He spotted a branch from Garrett's tree protruding out and hanging above his head.
He reached up, grabbed it, and started to pull with such might that the thin tree started leaning towards him.
"Yeah well, none of this would have happened if you hadn't decided to go exploring. That was your idea, not mine."
"Don't you dare let go," Garrett warned Quinn with a dangerous growl as he continued to tug on the branch. The tree started to lean even more. “If you let go, I swear I’ll…."
“You'll what?" Quinn goaded.
Garrett reached out in an effort to get his hands on Quinn. His plan was simple; he was going to slowly strangle the little thief to death.
When Garrett's hand ventured too close, Quinn released the branch. The tree catapulted back with such jarring force, Garrett almost lost his hold as the tree whipped from side to side.
Several creatures scurried to the base of Garrett's tree.
Lucky for Quinn, Garrett was able to hold on, because had he fallen to the ground, he vowed he would have taken Quinn down with him, and he wasn't above shooting him to do it. "This is your fault, Quinn," Garrett accused. "For the simple fact that you...not me…are the one who ruined the membrane.”
"It wouldn’t be ruined if you hadn’t coerced me into leaving the ship."
“Why you exaggerating two-bit thief. I didn't coerce you into anything," Garret bit out through clenched teeth.
Quinn glared at him. "No? Then why are we out here? Hun?"
Silence.
Somewhere in the distance an animal let out several yowls that sounded suspiciously like a devious laugh.
Neither of them spoke, they just held on as both trees swayed back and forth, accusing each other with cold angry glares. It came down to a standoff with neither of them willing to accept responsibility for the predicament they found themselves in.
And it was a predicament.
Stuck in a pair of trees, surrounded by a group of ferocious creatures, unable to return to their stolen Taleari ship. Not that they could get inside anyway. The door was closed. The only way to access it was with an authorized handprint, and the only one they had was now damaged beyond repair.
The rescuers now needed to be rescued as well.