Somewhat Alien: The Station (Terran Trilogy Book 2)

by Sheron Wood McCartha

  Although thumping continued from the far crate, the nearer one with the young girl remained silent. He crept up to the cockpit. A quick inspection confirmed his initial impression. Neither pilot nor navigator had survived the impact. Searching their bodies, he collected two laser guns and one with projectile bullets. It was outdated, but still effective. He pocketed them and turned his attention to the mounting commotion inside the far crate.

  “Is anyone there? Anybody, please. Get me out of this death trap!” The muffled cries accompanied even more thumps and curses.

  “Calm down. I’ll get you out,” he said.

  Immediately, the noise stopped. “Who are you?”

  “Name’s Merek. Hold on, I’m trying to save you. Give me a minute. The pilot and copilot are dead, and we’re somewhere in Islia in the mountains.”

  “I paid to be delivered to the Homestead. You better take me there.”

  As Merek tore open the lid, a stunning, red-haired female with flashing green eyes emerged.

  “Hate to burst your bubble, but I don’t think the Homestead was on their flight plan.” He held out a hand.

  “I don’t believe you.” Pale hands pushed back the abundant flame-colored hair. She stepped out, ignoring his offer of help.

  “Look outside.” He pointed to the barren snow-covered landscape.

  Ignoring his suggestion, she pivoted toward the other crate. “Is Annie all right?” Her fingers plucked at the slats.

  “Let’s find out.” Merek turned to wedge his fingers under the edge of the lid and ripped it open.

  The woman’s eyes widened at the ease with which he managed it.

  They both peered inside. Merek’s eyes settled on a miniature version of the woman. He reached in to feel her pulse and look under her eyelids.

  Dead. The child lay at an awkward angle, her neck broken by the abrupt landing.

  He stood there silent, rage building as he observed the innocent face. He opened his mouth to tell her the child was dead, but she already knew.

  “Noooo,” the woman wailed. “No.” She collapsed sobbing against Merek, who awkwardly held her in his arms until her cries subsided.

  “Ah, what’s your name, then,” he asked, attempting to divert her.

  The process of having to come up with a name quelled another outburst of tears. She hiccupped, gulped, and finally quavered, “Leanna. Leanna Bradley.”

  Merek took her by the shoulders and pushed her back to get a good look. “Not Captain Bradley’s daughter-in-law?”

  “He’s my husband’s uncle.”

  Merek groaned. He leaned forward to look out a window and surveyed a landscape white with snow. “What possessed that poor kid to get involved in something like this?”

  Leanna cast a glance at the nearby crate and tears started to well up in her eyes again. “She dreamed of a vegetable garden… and being with family on a planet with real dirt… and big trees.” A sob tore loose.

  Merek wrapped his arms around her. “I know. She told me too, but in no way does this answer those dreams. She’s gone, but if you and I have any chance of surviving, I need to determine the location of their nearest base. If it’s close, we’ll have to move fast before they get here. I activated a code red on my tracker, but it will take time for our rescuers to arrive.”

  She stepped back. “Who are you with?”

  “I work for Commander Fujeint.”

  “She’ll only want me to return to the ships. No! I want to go to the Homestead. We should contact their nearest base.” She pushed past him just as the radio crackled.

  “Shuttle Lima X-ray. Come in. This is Islian Base. We are an hour away and are sending a rescue party. Is your cargo safe? I repeat, is the cargo safe? Please respond.”

  Startled, she stopped to face him with a flushed face and sparkling eyes. “They’re going to save us.”

  He shook his head. “No, they’re not. How well have they treated you so far? They stuck you in a crate and wouldn’t let you out. You’re cargo. Homestead was never their destination. I’d guess they planned to sell you to the highest bidder as some sex slave or bonded wife.”

  “Nonsense!” She spun around to stare out the window and bite her lip. “Maybe that’s your plan.”

  Merek hadn’t expected this much resistance, and time was ticking away. He needed to get them out of there. They had barely an hour to get to cover. It might not be enough.

  “We need to get warmer clothes. You’d freeze in a heartbeat in the getup you have on. We can use the pilot’s clothes for extra warmth.”

  She crossed her arms. “I’m not wearing clothes off a corpse.”

  “If you want to live, that’s exactly what you’ll do. I’ll strip him, so you won’t be uncomfortable undressing a dead man, but you won’t survive thirty minutes in that outfit you’re wearing.”

  The radio crackled. “Lima X-ray, your helio is on the way. Please advise us of your status.”

  Merek pushed the pilot over and turned off the radio. He began undressing him, tossing a heavy jacket and then pants to the back. “Get dressed,” he ordered. “And hurry. We don’t have much time. I want to get as far away as I can before they arrive.”

  “All right. All right. Where are we going?” Leanna leaned to peer out the window, her brow knitted in concern.

  Next, he undressed the larger copilot, measuring the jacket for himself. It would be uncomfortably tight, but he would need the added warmth. Crash landing in Islia hadn’t been one of the scenarios suggested by Jacob. He studied the landscape, noting a series of outcroppings, which lined the base of a large mountain. They would need something to protect their faces… and gloves. He stripped a pair of gloves from the pilot. Thank goodness, it wasn’t snowing.

  “Are you decent?” he asked without turning around.

  “Best I can do,” she replied, her voice choking.

  He swiveled to see her glaring at him. Her stance was stiff and her lips formed a thin line. He made a conscious effort to remain calm. “You’ll need something to protect your face. Wasn’t there a blanket in your crate?”

  She held up a tan blanket, her expression unchanged.

  He retrieved a knife and cut two holes so she could look out and one at her mouth so she could breathe. Then he cut a strip to tie around her neck for a scarf that would hold it on. He pulled a blue blanket from the girl’s crate.

  “Oh!” Leanna put a fist up to her mouth and murmured, “We can’t just leave her.”

  “What? Are you kidding? We can’t take her.”

  “What will they do to her if they find her?”

  What would they do? The possibilities shook him. Instead, he said, “We don’t have time to shovel frozen ground.”

  “You appear strong. You ripped the lid right off the crate. Can’t you carry her until we get to those trees, and then I’ll bury her or…”

  Merek studied the slender girl and calculated the time for Jacob to find them. The answer wasn’t promising. He could carry her, but it would add time. However, if Jacob brought the team, they could take Annie back for a proper burial.

  “Search the cabin and cockpit for food. I’ll break up your crate and make snowshoes and a sled. We can keep the girl in her crate and haul her along with any food or blankets we find. Hurry. Time is short. I want to reach that stand of trees before sunset or the helio arrives.” He pointed in the distance to a dense growth of trees farther up the mountain.

  Quickly, they created a makeshift sled with a rope and piled in whatever supplies they could find. There wasn’t a lot, but the girl took up most of the room, anyway. After securing her, they found an extra blanket and tucked it around her to keep her from slamming against the sides and unbalancing the crate. Then he nailed the lid shut. Merek found cables that he cut to wrap around several disassembled slats, leaving room to slide their feet in. The makeshift skis proved awkward, but serviceable. He made runners for the crate.

  Taking a final check of the cabin, he stepped through the hatch and
surveyed their surroundings. Finding the area clear, he called, “Help me unload our gear.”

  She appeared at the hatch and pushed out the crate. Out front, the land gently undulated, dotted with clumps of shrubs and rock clusters, increasing in altitude until it reached the base of a small mountain. There a thick forest climbed halfway up one side. Currently, the sun was shining and the air felt reasonably warm, but that would change as the day wore on and night approached. A stiff wind blew up from the south, giving them a tailing wind and blowing the powdery snow around, covering their tracks.

  Leanna swung around to face him. “You’re sure we should do this? They might be coming to rescue us.”

  He gritted his teeth. “Absolutely. I don’t enjoy hiking across snow, but it’s better than what they have in mind. You don’t want their kind of rescue, believe me. Hiding from them might save your life or spare you from a life of sorrow. Besides, this is easier than most of the other things I’ve had to manage lately.”

  “Oh, and what ‘other things’ have you done which would be worse than this?”

  Her blanket mask swiveled and two eyes peered out of the ridiculous holes, daring him to answer.

  He winced at the memory of garbage raining down while he stood ankle deep in waste, a story she definitely didn’t need to hear. “Let’s save our breath for now. We’ll need to conserve every bit of our energy.”

  He adjusted his hold on the rope and tugged the crate forward. Reluctantly, it followed.

  Just as reluctantly, so did Leanna.

  ***

  It felt as if they’d been walking forever, even so the trees appeared to be moving farther and farther away. They passed clumps of rocks and brush, not daring to stop. The cold bit through the layers of clothing, and their masks became filled with chunks of ice in the freezing temperature.

  When he checked his chrono, he noted the hour mark approaching. In desperation, he searched for cover, finally discovering a nearby jumble of boulders and scrub. It would provide a meager place to hide from an approaching craft, but it would do.

  “Stop here and I’ll stash the crate out of sight.” He loosened the rope from his aching hands and toed the crate under the biggest boulder.

  “Finally.” The blanket-masked bundle of ill-fitting clothes sank to the ground. He shoved foliage around it just as his ears picked up the whirr of an approaching helio.

  “Get under, quick.”

  “What?”

  “The helio’s coming.” Merek removed his head covering and watched. Equipped with amplified vision and a long-range viewfinder, he could just make out the helio’s actions in the distance.

  The craft landed near the crashed shuttle. Men hopped out as the rotor blades continued swirling around, effectively erasing their tracks. He hoped. The men entered the shuttle and came back out shouting. They reentered and brought out two bodies.

  “What are they doing?” Leanna’s muffled voice asked from beneath a cluster of boulders.

  “They’re loading the two men into the helio and looking around for you and the girl. I suspect they noticed food and clothing are missing.”

  “Maybe they think we weren’t on the shuttle.”

  “No, they know you were on board and suspect you have attempted an escape. They may not have enough fuel to do an extensive search by helio, but probably figure you haven’t gotten far. My guess is they will do a brief air reconnaissance, and if that doesn’t work, they’ll send out snow rovers first thing in the morning. Hopefully, they’ll decide that you’ve frozen to death. If not, at least the delay will give us much-needed time to reach that forest of trees below the mountain. We’ll get better protection there. Might even climb a few.”

  “I’m not climbing any tree.”

  “You’d rather stay where wild animals can catch you? Lots of night predators around and all of them hungry.”

  “Name some.”

  “Richard mentioned something called a krell. It has long shaggy white fur, razor sharp claws, and fangs. Then a version of our polar bear, only more vicious and quite a bit larger. There’s also…”

  “Okay, okay. We’ll go for the trees.”

  The helio took off, made a few circles, and edged closer to where they hid, looking like a black predator hunting prey.

  “Damn! They must have heat seeking instruments on board. Stay under that boulder.” He pushed her farther in as the helio approached and proceeded to tuck in behind.

  Leanna let out a startled shriek as a dog-sized mammal erupted out of a cluster of rocks right next to the boulder and dashed across the snow. The helio swooped down, shots fired from it, and the creature stumbled and fell. More shots rang out as the helio dipped and swirled like some dark hunting bird.

  She pulled out from under the rock to stare at the flailing animal. “They shot it! That could have been Annie.” She groaned, “Maybe you were right.”

  He stuffed her back under the boulder. “Damn right, I’m right. Get back under. They still might notice us.”

  The helio circled lower over the frantic animal for a few rotations, then jerked left and upwards, heading north.

  Merek stared after the dwindling aircraft, tracing its departure. He checked his chrono.

  A few more circles farther on and the thumping of rotors grew dim. The sun edged downward toward the horizon, but they stayed still until they heard only the wind rustling trees and the snow skittering over the icy tundra.

  Leanna staggered out and brushed off snow and twigs. He jerked out the crate.

  “Every bit of me aches,” she complained.

  “He undid the lid and reached into the crate to pull out two food bars. “Here, this will give you some energy.” He wound the rope around his red, blistered hands and decided this was the last rescue he would ever attempt for Trace and company.

  Yanking on the crate again, he said, “We’re losing the light. We don’t want to be out in the open after dark. Too many hungry animals in these parts, and I don’t want to be their dinner.”

  They stopped by the body of the animal. He noted the sharp claws, thick gray coat, and a long snout. Even more frightening were the long, sharp teeth. Steam issued off its body.

  She poked it with a boot.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” he warned.

  The blanket mask swiveled toward him. “Why?” The word puffed out, forming a drifting cloud.

  “Most likely they used a stun gun if they thought it might be either of you. My suggestion is to get out of here without disturbing it. We don’t want to be dinner.”

  She hastily backed up, swung around, and stamped off unsteadily on her makeshift skis. He took out the gun and fired. She halted at the sound but didn’t look back. After a brief pause, she resumed trudging through the snow. He caught up to her, but neither said anything for a long while.

  Chapter 33

  In the Trees

  Merek pulled off his hood and stared upward, then examined his surroundings. He studied the dense trees, which formed a dark forest and climbed halfway up the mountain. Outside, the light was dimming, and the moon had yet to rise. “Let’s go a little farther in, but not too far.”

  Leanna collapsed at the base of a small tree. “Must we? I can’t move another step.”

  “We need to get everything off the ground and secured before it gets too dark to see. I don’t like climbing large, unfamiliar trees in the dark.”

  He started shuffling over the snow, heading into the grove. She sighed and stood up to follow. Five trees later he stopped at a thick barreled, rough-barked specimen with numerous sturdy branches. “This will do.”

  She drew off her hood and stared up. “You expect me to climb that?”

  “I’ll give you a boost up. First, I want to tie this cord firmly around your waist.” He waved her forward and bent down to untie the cord from around the crate’s planks. Then, using the cord, he circled her waist and looped her shoulders to form a makeshift harness. Undoing the other cord from the second slat, he attached
it to the homemade harness and handed her the end.

  “Swing this around the first sturdy branch you find. Make sure you’re high enough to be away from any predator under ten feet and drop the end to me. I’ll pull you up.”

  “Ten feet?”

  “Trace indicated wild animals around here might be able to reach up that far. You did notice the claws on that creature back there? And the sharp teeth?”

  “Yes, yes. All right. Give me a minute. I did mention I’m not fond of heights, didn’t I?”

  He watched her gather courage and admired the stunning face that had been hiding under the square of blanket. She would have made a desirable sex slave. Feelings of lust percolated through his brain, but then he chastised himself, acknowledging the cursed gebbit’s hormones at work. At the thought, Amanda’s face drifted across memory as he recalled the passionate night they had shared right before leaving. Anguish at her being so far away overwhelmed him.

  “I’m ready. Give me a boost.”

  His mind whipsawed from lust back to survival.

  Grunting, he hoisted Leanna up. She spied a thick branch high up and looped the cord around an arm-thick bough. He pulled while she scrambled from limb to limb.

  “Okay, tie it off there. Make sure it’s good and secure,” he shouted up. “Pass the end down to me. Grabbing it, he tied the other crate’s rope around his waist and began to climb, dragging the crate behind him. With dark arriving, it was getting hard to see, but he managed to wedge it into some nearby branches before joining Leanna.

  They stared at each other. She shivered.

  Merek began, “We’ll be warmer if we hold each other.”

  Leanna nodded. “Yes, all right.” She made room for him as he wedged his back against the tree trunk and tied them fast. Bringing out a laser, then a pistol, he handed her the laser. “Use this only if you need it. Be careful with it. Do you know how to work it? It has five settings. I’m putting it on stun for now. This lever will advance it to kill.” He thumbed a lever on the neck of the gun. “Squeeze this trigger to fire.” He aimed and fired. A beam shot through several branches, causing them to rattle in protest.