Dan picked up the pistol, checked to make sure the safety was still on, and slipped it into his pocket. Then he headed toward the rear of the ship. He needed someone to talk to right about then, and the more he thought about it the more he felt like Beth might, too. He decided to check if she could use a hand back in the engine room for a little while. Even having her yell at him would be better than just sitting here waiting for something to happen.
Paul waited until Dan was out of sight. He waited another full minute, just to make sure. Then he carefully shifted the cuffs on his wrists down to a chunk of the stanchion which wasn’t as smooth as the rest. It wasn’t sharp; but it was rough. The welds in that spot had never been properly sanded out, and they were jagged enough to do the job. He started moving the zip tie back and forth along the rough patch, feeling a little more heat build up in the plastic tie with each slide over the metal.
Heat up the tie enough, and it would snap. Once he was loose Paul was going to turn all of this around. They wouldn’t be able to push him around anymore. His plans had fallen apart so far, but that was all about to change for the better.
Seven
The only good thing about sweating this much, Charline figured, was that she knew she hadn’t gone into heat injury yet. Sweat meant the body still had enough fluid in it to try to stay cool. Not that it was helping her that much. Her cap kept the sun off her face, mostly, and they’d started sticking to the shade of the buildings once the ruins they clambered through started getting intact enough to cast good shadows. But even so, it was incredibly hot. She sloshed her canteen and took another gulp. There wasn’t a lot of water left, and they still had way too much walking left to do.
They’d checked inside three buildings so far. They were trying to be careful to pick ones which looked more intact, but none of them was trained for that sort of thing, so it was all guesswork. Anyway, they hadn’t found a way above the ground floor in any of the structures they’d explored. They hadn’t wanted to go wandering far enough into those crumbling ruins to do a really thorough search.
She was very aware just how far from home and any help they were. If rubble fell from somewhere up above while they were inside one of those things... Even if they survived, it might keep them from getting out. Dan and Beth might never find them.
But these quick checks weren’t finding much. The buildings were just empty. Maybe looted, or maybe time had just wiped out whatever used to be there. This place had been empty of inhabitants a long, long time.
They turned a corner in the street, starting to arc around so they could trace another route back to the ship and search some territory they hadn’t seen yet on the way back. Up the road fifty or so meters she saw another promising looking building. This one wasn’t tall, like the ones around it. It wasn’t made of artificial materials either, like most of the buildings here. They were all some sort of metal composite that felt and looked like smooth concrete. This building was made of stone. Big, carved stone blocks. In front was a pair of pedestals, which looked like they’d maybe once had statues sitting on them. The very fact that it was so different from the surrounding structures made it feel appealing to her. If it was unique on the outside, maybe there would be something worth finding on the inside.
“Hey guys,” Charline said. “Let’s check that one out.”
John eyed the building. “It’s different enough.”
“Yeah,” she said. “It kinda reminds me of the New York Public Library.”
Andy blinked at the building, then looked at her. “It doesn’t look anything like it.”
“Not in shape. I’m talking about context. Look, it seems likely that the stone block building pre-exists these ones with the fancy building materials, right? And it’s this short building in the middle of all these high-rise towers. Sort of like the library. Or some other old building, kept around out of sentiment instead of practicality.” Charline liked the idea that this race was capable of sentiment.
“Don’t go putting human emotions on an alien culture Charline. We can’t know why they built it, or why they kept it around,” John said. “But it is different from the rest of these buildings. Certainly worth taking a look.”
Charline was going to reply when she heard a rattle behind her, stones clattering. She was about to turn around to look, when Andy put a hand on her upper arm, stopping her.
“Don’t look,” he said softly, leaning in toward her ear. “You’ll tell them we’ve spotted them.”
She looked up at him, eyes wide with alarm. “Tell who?” she mouthed.
“I’m not sure. Haven’t gotten a good look yet. But we’ve been followed since we started down this block. More than one, not sure how many.”
Charline tilted her head John’s way, eyes questioning.
“Yeah, tipped John off soon as I saw them. We’ve had some years to set up signals for that sort of thing. Was about to tell you when you heard them. Good ears, by the way,” he said with a grin.
She felt the grin was more than a little out of place. “We’re being stalked by someone. This is not a party,” she admonished, trying to sound more confident than she felt.
Andy’s grin just got bigger. “Let’s check that building ahead, see if we can find someplace to hunker down in. Worst case, we can call in the Satori to pull us out of here. The street’s a tight fit for her, but I’m pretty sure if anyone can set her down here, Dan can.”
John had ranged a bit ahead, and Charline saw his weapon was held a little more at the ready than it had been before. She took a firmer grasp of her own rifle, seating the stock into her shoulder, and stretched her legs out a little to catch up with John. Andy followed, bringing up the rear. It had been a long time since she’d fired at anything other than a paper target, but Charline knew how to hit what she was aiming at. If whatever stalked them thought they were going to be an easy target, they were in for a surprise.
Eight
Dan rolled down the hallway and peeked into the engine room. Bearding Beth in her den would make anyone but a lion tamer nervous, he assured himself. He was bored, but he’d had the sharp side of her tongue often enough to not look forward to the experience. At the same time, he wanted to make sure she was really OK. She’d been through a lot over the last few hours. It would have been enough to shake up just about anyone, even someone as strong as her.
“Beth?”
“Yeah? What?” He saw her when she spoke, but she didn’t look up at him. She was down in the gap under the deck plates, working on the shredded conduit. Dan’s eyes wandered around the engine room. The place was a mess from the two explosions. It was going to take the crew a lot of work to fix it up, once they got the ship home. He went into the engine room, wheelchair bouncing over random bits of metal scattered on the floor.
“Was wondering if you could use a hand?”
“Not really. Not unless you’ve learned which end of a tool to hold over the last five years.”
Dan exhaled in frustration. “Beth, I’m bored to tears up there. Can you give me something to do?”
Then she did pop her head out. “You’re supposed to be up there watching Paul, so he doesn’t get any ideas. He almost killed us all, and you think skylarking around the ship and leaving him on the bridge is a good idea?”
She was right, of course. But he wasn’t going to admit it to her. “Paul hasn’t moved since the guys left to check out those ruins. He hasn’t said a word. He’s barely wiggled.”
“He’s still alive, right?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Darn.” She turned back to her work.
Dan knew Beth well enough to hear the tension under her light tone. Paul had her pretty worked up. She still looked cool as could be on the outside, but he knew her moods. He could hear the anger boiling just under the surface. Which meant just doing as she asked was probably the best bet. He wasn’t going to be able to help her through that anger, not yet anyway. All he’d do by trying was piss her off.
He spun h
is wheelchair around and started back for the door. He was about to go out into the hall when he heard a loud buzzing sound. He peeked around the door frame.
It was Paul. He was up and about, and trying to get in to the arms room. The buzz was the retinal scanner denying him access. One thing they’d done as soon as they were safe on the planet’s surface was lock all of Paul’s access out of all ship’s systems. Including the arms room lock.
Paul glanced down the hall toward Dan. His eyes were wide and panicked. He saw Dan, knew that the alarm had given him away.
No time to warn Beth. Dan pulled the pistol out and aimed it at Paul. “Don’t even breathe, asshole,” he called out, loudly enough for Beth to hear. “I won’t shed a tear if I have to blow a hole in you.” Not after almost killing Beth. He thought he could live with Paul’s death, under the circumstances.
Behind him, he heard Beth scrambling out from under the deck plates.
Ahead of him, he watched desperation turn to resolution in Paul’s eyes. He could see the transformation there, see Paul’s decision to take the chance. He saw Paul’s shoulder bunch as he gathered to race the short distance to get to him.
Before Paul had even begun to move, Dan pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
He’d forgotten to turn of the safety, he realized numbly. Before his thumb could flick the small lever, Paul’s palm connected with the pistol. The weapon flew out of Dan’s hands and onto the engine room deck.
Dan tried to block the punch that followed. He took the blow on a forearm instead of his face, but the force still sent his wheelchair tipping sideways and back. He tumbled out onto the floor. Paul followed, landing a vicious kick to his ribs. Dan tucked his elbows down and caught the second kick on an arm.
Then Dan heard a loud boom, and blood spattered down around him. Paul screamed and clutched his shoulder. He saw Paul turning, saw Beth with the pistol in hand, taking aim again. Paul ducked to the deck just as she fired the second shot, missing. With an incoherent cry, Paul dashed out the door and down the hall.
Beth rushed to Dan’s side and knelt down. Concern creased her face. “Are you OK?”
“I’m fine. Got to stop him,” Dan said. He panted. It hurt a little to take deep breaths. He didn’t think the kick had broken anything, but it was going to be sore.
“Damn it, Dan. How could you leave him unguarded up there? I ought to kick you myself,” Beth said. Instead, she tipped his wheelchair back upright.
The sound of the ramp lowering from the ship echoed down the hall. Then there was a whooshing sound.
“He’s got the hatch open, Dan! Get into your chair. We’ve got to stop him.”
“Why? If he wants to get off here, let him. Good riddance.” Dan winced as he hauled himself back into the wheelchair. His ribs were definitely bruised.
“And let him do God knows what outside the ship? He knows this ship almost as well as I do. He can disable the drive, muck up all sorts of stuff from out there.” She stalked off down the hall without waiting for him, pistol pointing ahead of her.
And Dan knew she was right again. That burned. Paul was still a threat, even outside the ship, for as long as they sat here. Dan wheeled himself forward to the bridge. The simplest solution was to button up the hatch, move the ship, and call the team outside to tell them where they’d parked. He passed Beth, who was cursing as she peeked out the open door and down the empty ramp. He could tell from the swearing that Paul was already nowhere in sight. There was plenty of rubble nearby to duck behind. He’d just hide out there until they gave up and closed the ramp, then tinker with the ship from outside. Or wait until Beth had gone out there alone after him, and then try to get the drop on her.
No, that wasn’t going to happen. They needed to get airborne fast. First step was to raise John on the radio.
He keyed the microphone. “John, it’s Dan. We have a situation here.”
No response.
“John?”
Nothing but static on the line. What was going on out there?
Nine
Andy found himself impressed by the facade of the ancient structure, despite his need to stay alert for whatever was following them. He was pretty sure it was at least four of whatever they were, but he still hadn’t gotten a good look at them. Some sort of predator, he was sure now; they’d encircled his team from the start, working together like wolves or lions. So he’d pulled the team in close to this building. If things came to a fight, they wouldn’t have to worry about anything sneaking up behind them.
The building was beautiful. If it had been a work of art in a museum, he imagined it might have been called ‘A Study of Arches’, because there were displays of arches everywhere, all built from stone. The whole building seemed like a collection of arches tied together with columns and walls.
Unfortunately, the front doorway, which had also been an arch, hadn’t held. The entire entry was full of rubble, blocking the only visible way in. He climbed another pile to peek in a broken window, but there was nothing to see. More rubble was heaped inside. It looked like perhaps the roof had come down, but he couldn’t get high enough to tell for sure. The windows were slits, too narrow to pass through.
“No way in over here, guys,” he said. John and Charline were both nervously facing the street, rifles at the ready.
“So, we move on, or hunker down here?” Charline asked. Andy could barely hear the quiver in her voice. She was taking this pretty well.
“I think we stay put. Call Dan. Lift off out of here on the Satori. What do you say, John?”
“I think that sounds like a good – ,” John started to say. He was cut off by a snarl as something short, fast, and four legged leapt from hiding off to his side, lunging for him. Andy’s burst took the thing in mid-air, slugs slamming into it from the side. It was dead before it hit the ground. He had just enough time to see dusty brown scales, a long snout, and a ratlike tail before more of the things burst out from all sides.
Then it was a free for all. He took another one down as it tried to rush Charline. She was busy trying to hit one that was scampering at them from across the street. Her second burst nailed it. John was expending rounds, but Andy wasn’t sure he was actually hitting anything. These things were fast!
“Get up here with me!” Andy shouted from the pile of rubble. “I’ll cover you while you move!”
Charline and John sprinted for the pile.
Andy dropped into a calm place, a trick he’d earned through long practice. He clicked the rifle to single shot and then swept it across his field of vision in a fluid motion, dealing death as it swung around. Three more of the things were hit. One wasn’t moving anymore, and the two wounded ones turned and fled. But at least a half dozen more were still rushing them. He’d badly underestimated their numbers.
One was way too close to John, but he couldn’t get a good shot; John was in the way. Then the thing sprang onto John’s back. He crashed to the ground, but it gave way beneath him. A gaping hole opened in the ground, taking him and the creature down into the dark below.
“John!” Andy shouted. Charline was with him now, side by side, taking the things down as they came. Four left. Three. Two. The last two decided they didn’t look so tasty after all, and scampered off. He nailed one in the middle of the street, and Charline hit the other just before it hit the piles of rock on the far side.
“Nice shooting,” he said to her, already moving back down the rubble toward the hole. “John!” he shouted. “Hang on! We’re coming!” He hoped they weren’t too late.
John had a moment to realize that one of the things was on his back, hot breath a miasma around his head, before he started to fall. He hadn’t tripped. Something beneath him simply gave way, came apart as his feet landed on it, and then he was dropping into darkness.
He had a perception of jaws snapping near his face as the thing fell with him, still clinging to his shoulders.
Then he slammed to a stop, landing on his back. Sharp claws t
ore through his shirt, the creature trying to kick free. He rolled away from it and came to a stop a few feet distant.
Light poured down from above, dimly illuminating the space he was in. The ratlike thing was still lying there near the pool of light. It twisted its body and turned over, coming back onto its feet. Three of its feet, anyway. It was favoring the fourth, trying not to put any weight on it.
And there on the floor next to it was his rifle. He must have lost it on the way down, or maybe when he hit the floor.
“Thanks for breaking my fall, ugly,” he muttered.
It hissed in response.
His impression that it was ratlike seemed apt. The faint sunlight from above showed something that looked like a cross between a rat the size of a wolf and a crocodile. It hissed again and snapped its jaws at him. John blanched. Those jaws were full of teeth. Lots of teeth.
He reached down to the floor and scooped up a pair of fist-sized rocks. Some weapon was better than none. He threw one at the thing. It scampered sideways, and he missed. The thing hissed again, and started slinking toward him, moving slowly. It was still favoring that hurt leg. That might give him a little advantage, but it was still fast and those teeth looked deadly.
John backed away. He kept backing in a circle, and it kept coming closer. He tossed the other rock, which hit the thing in the flank but didn’t seem to slow it down any. If anything, he thought he might have just made it angrier.
Sometimes, he thought, you could scare off a predator by seeming like a bigger predator. He stopped backing away. It stopped coming closer, slipped off a little to one side instead. So he took a half step toward it and snarled.
It snarled back, but didn’t come closer.
Adventures of the Starship Satori: Book 1-6 Complete Library Page 15