Chapter 4
The next morning the captain made us stay inside the ship until it was fully light out, even though we were all up early and excited for the day to start.
“Is it just me, or do they seem jittery?” Tatiana asked as we ate our breakfast bars.
I glanced at the men wandering around the main deck. “They have no reason to be. Yesterday went smoothly. We’ve only been here one night. What could they possibly have to be worried about?”
“That’s what worries me.” She watched them warily as she nibbled on her food.
I didn’t trust them either, but we didn’t have any reason to think they were being anything other than cautious in this new environment.
“It could be that none of them have been on an alien planet like this. Even though they are the Consortium’s Triplanetary Military, they’re likely only used to the three human planets. That could be the cause of their discomfort.” I suggested.
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
I hoped that was it. I’d had an uncomfortable sensation in my stomach since seeing the decorative flowers yesterday.
Was anyone else feeling a sense of unease about this place?
My team didn’t seem to be anything but excited for the next several hours of work, but maybe the military officers were getting the same sense of foreboding that I was.
When the sleek metal doors opened and the ramp descended, I shook off my melancholy, grabbed my equipment, and headed out.
As I got closer to the worksite I took in the command tent. Or rather, what had been the command tent. It was destroyed. Nothing else in or near the shrines had been bothered, but pieces of the equipment the men had brought out in black cases along with the white tent were scattered everywhere.
I crouched next to the remains of the tent. Teeth marks marred the posts that had once propped the canvas up. Nearby, a metal case had scratch marks all over it. I was suddenly thankful that they’d insisted we go inside before darkness came.
Cursing and grumbling accompanied the captain and the men as they saw the work of whatever creature had been out here last night. I continued on. They would live without their command tent protecting them from the sun.
The rocks and shrines didn’t bear any signs of wild creatures. There were no claw marks and nothing was disturbed, almost as if this place was sacred and they knew to stay out of it. I shook off the thought. How silly.
The morning passed in a blur and by midday I felt like I’d drunk my weight in electrolyte infused water, thanks to the heat. I wiped sweat dripping into my eyes and glanced around, wishing for a breeze.
Movement at the corner of my eye had me turning.
Several feet away a huge leaf with a scalloped edge was swaying, as if something had been there.
Instinctively, I looked for the military officers.
They were still giving us space after yesterday, but hadn’t abandoned us completely, for which I found myself suddenly very grateful.
I kept an eye on the spot as I nibbled on my meal replacement bar. Nothing moved, and I chalked it up to paranoia. There were also large flying insects here, which could have made it move.
An ear shattering cry of pain had me lunging to my feet.
It took me a few seconds of wild scanning to find the cause of the noise.
When I did, disbelief hit me like a wave.
Multiple animals the size of a main coon cat, much larger than the peacock sugar glider that Jaron had taken a picture of, but still the same species, were pouring into the area.
The wail had come from the co-pilot, and she batted wildly at them as they swarmed her, biting, their brightly colored feathers flaring around them as they snarled and bared pointy teeth.
What they lacked in size, they made up for in number.
I started running toward the co-pilot.
“Oh my gosh!” A few feet away Dr. Rasmussen froze as one skittered toward him, teeth bared. I changed my trajectory and barreled into him, pushing him hard so we both tumbled behind a protruding stone. The angry animal missed us, barely. Its razor-sharp claws flashed scant inches from us.
Gun and laser fire rent the peaceful air, a booming staccato that echoed painfully against the cliff walls back to us as if in judgment.
I crawled so that I could put my back to the stone and have a better vantage point.
The military had recovered from whatever shock the horde of creatures had created and were shooting them. Several yards away one of my researchers was clutching her thigh, bright red blood staining her khaki hiking pants. I started to crawl toward her but a hand on my ankle kept me from going far.
“What are you doing?” Dr. Rasmussen hissed.
“Dr. Walker is injured.” I pointed. His eyes were dilated, but his gaze followed my pointing finger.
“Can’t you wait to go out there until they’re all dead?” He hadn’t let go of my ankle yet.
“I need to make sure she’s ok.” I turned in time to see Dr. Walker trying to kick at two of the creatures that were attempting to jump on her.
Lunging to my feet, I covered my head with an arm as if it would protect me from flying bullets and ran over to her.
Hurting living things wasn’t in my nature, but I wasn’t about to let her get torn apart, so I aimed a solid kick at the middle of one of them, sending it tumbling away.
I had to bite back the “I’m sorry” that came to my lips and instead focused on helping Dr. Walker get the other one away.
Once we’d pushed it aside it dropped as a bullet hit it. Nausea curled in my stomach and up my throat. I quickly turned my attention to the researcher and put pressure on her wound, worried they’d bitten deep enough to cause serious bleeding.
The silence was so sudden that with the sound of gunfire still bouncing around in my head it took me a moment to realize no one was shooting anymore. Like the sensation of moving even after stepping off a boat onto dry land.
“Here.” A soldier brought a med kit, and I helped him patch a pale Dr. Walker up.
“We’ll need to pump you full of antibiotics back on the ship.” The military officer helped her stand, and I got on her other side as we slowly made our way toward the ship, which was nearly a quarter mile away. It would be a painful and slow trip for her.
When we got to the ramp, the captain, looking troubled, helped us get her inside and settled into a chair. The military officer inserted an IV while I stood next to her.
“What’s your pain level?” I asked. She hadn’t said anything since we’d bandaged on her.
“An eight out of ten. That thing had really long, needlelike teeth.” she gritted.
“Of course a vorpyr planet would have an animal like that.” the co-pilot said derisively from another chair, an IV already steadily dripping for her. She was much more bandaged than Dr. Walker, and I couldn’t fault her for being upset.
“If you’re ok, I need to check on the others.” I told my researcher. She nodded and closed her eyes.
A short jog later I was back at the shrines, wanting to get eyes on all of my people, to make sure no one else was hurt. Jaron and Tatiana first. I searched for them.
All over the burial ground the small creatures lay dead. I put a hand to my lips at the terrible sight, only then realizing that I was shaking.
“Are you ok?” I hadn’t noticed Jaron come up. His voice was soft as he put a hand on my shoulder. “You look sick.”
“This is awful.” I whispered. “We came into their territory. We shouldn’t have killed them all.” Surely there must be something on the ship that we could have used to repel them while we were here.
He squeezed my shoulder with a sympathetic look. “It’s done now. Let’s try to get back to work.” He looked over his shoulder at one of the military officers prodding a limp animal with the toe of his boot. He raised his voice. “I trust you all will take these poor creatures somewhere else.”
The man curled his lip and opened his mouth as if to argue, but Jaron continued as if he didn’t see him. “Researchers cannot work in conditions like this, and this is a Consortium sanctioned research mission.” His voice was firm and he held the gaze of the other man.
With a jerk of his head the officer called to his colleagues to gather up the carcasses.
Jaron sent me a smile, though his eyes were tense. “Let’s go, there’s still lots to explore.”
Yes, what was done was done and later I would have a conversation with the captain about making sure no other animals were killed. In the meantime, I had a job to do.
After checking on everyone and making sure there wasn’t anyone else injured, I spoke with the captain.
I forced myself to thank him for the protection and for the men removing the animals from the area.
Where they put them, I didn’t want to know.
Then I broached the topic of a non-lethal predator repellent.
His lips turned down. Whether he was disgusted with me or the situation, I wasn’t sure.
“I don’t know that we have anything like that to keep animals at bay.” At my tight-lipped expression his scowl deepened. “But I’ll look.”
I continued my work though I’d told the others they should rest in the ship. I gazed around the large area. Four military men in pairs of two stomped past the wide part of the canyon the shrines occupied and scouted for other animals in the area that we should be aware of.
“Jacqueline?”
I turned to Tatiana. Her face was drawn as she watched the men disappear into the foliage. ”Yes?”
“Is Dr. Walker ok?”
“She received medical care and is resting.” I assured her.
“Ok.” She nibbled on her bottom lip.
“Are you sure you don’t want to return to the ship to rest? That was terrifying.”
Tatiana stubbornly shook her head. “We only have a limited amount of time on this planet and I intend to make the most of it.”