by Mel Odom
Unable to find her balance, Hella came down hard but managed to land on her back. She slapped her arms out to her sides at the moment of contact with the ground to lessen some of impact. The wind went out of her in a rush, and she thought she might have fractured her ribs.
Groaning with effort and pain, Hella rolled over onto her elbow and folded her legs beneath herself. Then she stood, lit by the lightning given off by the defense bot's auto fire. Her guns were once more ready, but there was no need. The bot's heavy-caliber gunfire tore the tentacled thing to pieces, bursting it like a grape and leaving the tentacles hanging empty.
"Hella!"
"I'm fine. Back at camp." Hella stared through the darkness and saw one of the tentacled things explode as a rocket slammed into it. "These things are hard to kill."
"Stubborn, that's all. Definitely doable."
Smiling, Hella turned to look for Colleen.
The woman knelt next to a defense bot, hair in her face, features ironed by terror, and tears in her eyes.
Hella went to her, feeling bad for what happened to her. She turned one of her guns into a hand and gently laid it on Colleen's shoulder. "Hey. You're safe."
Colleen clung to Hella's hand with both of hers. "I don't know what happened."
Gunfire out in the brush slowed, and Hella thought the creatures were either all dead or they'd run deeper into the forest. "It's okay. We'll work it out."
"Colleen Trammell doesn't remember anything?" Stampede sounded as if he didn't believe that as he walked through the battlefield outside camp the next morning.
"Until she realized that thing was holding her, no." Hella flanked the bisonoid and searched the other side of the swath they cut through the forest.
"Do you believe her?"
Hella hesitated, knowing that was a loaded question. It wasn't just about her believing Colleen's story. It was also about whether he thought Hella was compromised by her belief in the woman.
"I believe her."
Stampede kicked one of the bodies over so he could peer into the hideous face. He didn't say anything, but Hella knew what he was thinking.
"I like her. She seems real."
Like a curious child, Stampede gripped the thing's face and forced the misshapen X mouth open. Fangs on all four flaps glistened. "You like her because she wants to be with her daughter instead of out here."
"I do." Hella knew better than to try to hide the respect she held for the woman.
"You can't trust people out here, Red. Not even me."
"Can I trust you on that?"
Stampede glanced up at her and smiled. His horns glistened with morning mist.
"She didn't know what she was doing." Hella focused on remembering how Colleen Trammell had acted. "It was like she was hypnotized or something. The way she was dressed—"
"Not like we've seen her before. And not something she'd wear out in the open around men. Other women might. But not that one."
Hella felt a little better then. Stampede had noticed a lot. He was only pretending to be a hard sell.
"I don't think she got up on her own." Hella slipped her sunglasses on. Even with the mist, the day was going to be bright. She hoped it meant the rain was abating.
"You think these things called out to her?"
"Not the creatures. The ripple."
Stampede pulled at his chin whiskers and flicked his nose ring He did that a lot when he was thinking deep thoughts, especially if those thoughts were also troubling. "It's one thing to believe that Colleen Trammell is a precog tracking these ripples, but it's another if we flip that possibility and think maybe they're tracking her."
"You think she can call them to her!''' Hella hadn't considered that.
"Got to admit it's a possibility."
"Then why didn't she stay back in New Mexico and call them to her there?"
"That's something I'd like to ask her. And it's why I want to know if they're following her."
Asking Colleen Trammell anything wasn't possible. Since the attack, Klein Pardot had kept Colleen sequestered and under guard. Stampede hadn't liked that either.
"I really don't like what we've gotten ourselves into, Red." Without warning, the tentacled thing spun on Stampede and lurched up to bite him. So quickly that Hella could barely see him move, the bisonoid slammed his other palm against the creature's forehead and drove the body into the ground.
Then Hella felt Stampede's power send a tremor through the ground. Although neither of them knew where the elemental power came from, they knew he had it. If pressed, he could open fissures in the ground. For the moment, he settled for driving a wave of pure seismic force through the tentacled thing.
Whatever made up the creature's insides shattered and burst. Purple froth cascaded from the ruined mouth. The body collapsed in on itself, shriveling up like a grape turning into a raisin. The thing made no sound as it died for sure.
Stampede drew his hand back and looked around at the haze that filled the tree line in the distance. "None of this, not Klein Pardot and not Colleen Trammell, is what we think it is."
"You think maybe we should cut our losses?" Hella hated asking the question in case the idea hadn't already been lurking inside Stampede's head. She wasn't ready to walk away, but she wanted to know if that was what they would do.
The bisonoid drew in a deep breath and let it out. He wasn't happy. "Not yet."
Hella wanted to tease him, to get him back into a good mood because she didn't like it when he got all broody. She wanted to ask him if he was curious. But she didn't dare. When Stampede got in a snit, he didn't like anyone—not even Hella—asking questions.
"Wherever Pardot is going, whatever he's got in mind, I want to see it. If they let us. And not because I'm curious. Because I think someone should know what the stakes are in this. This feels big enough that I think someone should know."
"Okay."
Stampede stood and looked at her. "If you get the chance, get close to Colleen. She's here under duress. Maybe she'll open up to you."
"Sure."
"Especially since Pardot and Riley are going to be keeping a closer eye on her."
Colleen finally put in an appearance at midmorning. Klein Pardot had given orders that they were going to stay for a while to make sure nothing else untoward caught them off guard. Although she wasn't certain, Hella was convinced that Pardot wanted Colleen rested. Otherwise he'd have ordered them into movement.
For an hour or more, Colleen took tissue samples from the tentacled things. Every now and again, she shuddered as she touched one, and Hella knew that memory of the attack was playing havoc with her.
Hella joined her under the watchful eyes of the guard. "Can I help?"
Looking up at her, Colleen smiled and shook her head. "You don't know what to do."
"Maybe not but I'm a fast learner."
"I'd believe that. After seeing you in action last night, I know you're a capable young woman." Colleen excised a slice of tissue from the inside of one of the creatures, probably the brain judging from the looks of everything, and slid it onto a prepared slide. "I hope my Alice grows up to be like you. This world is no longer welcoming to those that can't take care of themselves."
"Alice?"
"My daughter." A smile flirted with Colleen's lips, but in the end fear won out and she dropped her gaze. "I just hope we both live long enough to see each other again."
"You will."
Tears fell down the woman's cheeks then, and Hella was surprised at how embarrassed she felt for Colleen. "I hope you're right. Truly I do." Colleen wiped at her tears. "I want to thank you for what you did last night. For saving me."
"All part of the service." That was something Stampede would say, but Hella felt awkward parroting it to Colleen. Bravado was another skill set the bisonoid had taught her, and she'd learned it well, but it didn't feel right dealing with Colleen that way. Hella was getting weak.
"No. Please don't denigrate risking your life for me." Colleen's blu
e eyes regarded her with desperation. "What you did was a fine thing, a good thing. I don't know anyone else that would have done something like that."
"Riley and his men—"
"Perform guard duty because they're afraid of Dr. Pardot and what he can do to their lives when we get back to the complex." Colleen lowered her voice. "Don't make them out to be heroes, and don't depend on them. They're mercenaries, nothing more."
Hella nodded because there seemed to be nothing for her to say. She waited a moment before she spoke again. "You weren't awake when you went out into the forest last night, Dr. Trammell. I saw you. You were sleepwalking."
Colleen looked away. "I don't remember."
"Has this ever happened to you before?"
"Dr. Pardot won't allow me to talk about this."
"I understand, but I need to know. Stampede needs to know. If we're going to take care of you, we need to know what to look for. It's important to know if it will happen again. Do you understand?"
The desperate look returned. "Yes. I'm not a fool." Colleen sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. It's just—"
"Dr. Pardot."
"Yes."
"Pardot has an armed guard around him that's taking care of him. He's protected." Hella reached out and took Colleen's hand. "I want to make sure you're safe. So you can go back to Alice." She felt guilty using the little girl against the woman, but she did it anyway. Her life and Stampede's were at risk.
Colleen looked up at her, and the tears were back. "Bless you." She took a breath. "What happened last night has never happened before. But I'm afraid it will, you know?"
Hella nodded and felt guilty about gaining the woman's trust. At the same time, though, she knew she meant what she said.
"I've dreamed about the ripples since I was a child." Colleen smiled briefly but it was forced. "Maybe I'm not exactly genetically pure either."
"I promise not to hold it against you."
"Dr. Pardot brought me out here because some of my recent dreams have interested him. There's something out here that we're going to discover that has the potential to change our world. All our worlds." Colleen paused. "I just don't know if it's going to be for the better."
"Can you tell me what it is?"
Colleen shook her head. "I've told you too much already. Even telling you that much may put you and your partner more at risk. But I had to tell someone." She gave Hella's hand a final squeeze and released it. "I'm sorry you got mixed up in this. You're too young to see the things you may have to see."
Hella sat there stunned, not knowing what to say. Silently she watched Colleen walk away. Two of Riley's men gazed at them. Getting to her feet, Hella walked back to Daisy. "Well?"
Stampede spoke flatly over the comm link. "From here on out, Red, we both sleep with one eye open."
CHAPTER 7
Hella hand-fed Daisy from a string of rats she'd caught that morning. All the rats were freshly killed, and it was the next best thing to the mountain boomer's running them down herself. Hella wasn't willing to let the lizard run free into the wilderness, especially not when they weren't certain all the tentacled things were dead. She was certain the mountain boomer could hold her own against two or three of them, but they still had no way of knowing how many of the creatures had slipped through the ripple.
Daisy ate greedily, gulping her meal and getting blood on her face. She cawed for more before Hella could free another rat.
Even before the shadow fell on the ground, Hella knew she had company. She heard Riley approach and knew him from the sound of the way he moved. Daisy's body language shifted, and the man's reflection showed in the lizard's eyes.
"You need to be careful there, or you're going to lose an arm."
Hella didn't bother to turn around. "Only if I get surprised."
"Maybe I should have waited." Riley paused a moment. "That was a joke, right? I guess you already knew I was coming."
"I knew you were here." Hella freed the last rat then made Daisy sit and wait for it, just to remind the lizard who was in control of the appetite.
Daisy waited expectantly. The lizard never took her eyes from the prize, but she watched Riley as well. Obviously she wasn't relaxed around him either. With a flourish, Hella tossed the dead rat into the air. The lizard rose up onto her haunches, towering over Hella and Riley as she gulped down the rat.
Hella turned while Daisy dropped back to all fours. Riley had stepped back out of fear, and his hand had dropped to his holstered weapon. Hella braced herself, determined to knock the man on his butt before he could clear leather.
With visible effort, Riley stopped moving and took his hand from his weapon. His face inside the hardshell helmet had paled. "I didn't know that thing could move like that."
"Daisy's full of surprises." Hella cleaned the bloody stringer on the grass. "Is there anything I can do for you, Captain Riley?"
"We don't have to be so formal."
"All right."
He frowned, obviously not satisfied with her answer. "Dr. Pardot wanted me to thank you for saving Dr. Trammell."
Took him long enough to get around to that. Hella nodded. "All part of the service."
Riley hesitated. "I noticed you talking to Dr. Trammell a little while ago."
Hella knew that was a lie. Riley had been nowhere near when she'd talked to Colleen. She waited.
"I was wondering what she had to say to you."
"She thanked me for saving her."
Stampede chuckled coldly in Hella's ear. "Isn't he the busy little bee?"
"Did she happen to say anything else?"
Hella lied glibly. That was also one of the first things Stampede had taught her. "She just told me how terrible it was, how she thought she was going to die, and how she didn't want to leave Alice alone in the world." She paused. "Alice is her daughter."
Riley's eyes narrowed, almost disappearing in the shadows of his helmet. "I'm quite aware of who Alice is."
"Okay. Now, if there's not anything else, I've got some gear that needs attention. Hopefully we're moving out soon. Sitting here makes me feel like a target."
"We'll be moving on soon enough."
Not soon enough for me. Hella started to pass him.
Riley put a hand on her shoulder. Daisy cawed in warning and lumbered over. The lizard really didn't like Riley, and Hella had learned to trust Daisy's instincts. On numerous occasions they had kept them both alive.
Riley jerked his hand back. "It's okay to talk to Dr. Trammell, but don't believe everything she says."
Stampede's voice turned colder, harder. "Pardot sent Riley to do damage control. That doesn't make me happy. Step carefully here, Red."
"She said she was scared and she thought she was going to die." Hella met the Riley's gaze full measure. "I don't see anything that I shouldn't believe about that."
"Of course not." Riley smiled flawlessly. However, his eyes never lost their bleak hardness. "But for future reference, Dr. Trammell suffers from a mental disorder. A near breakdown. Some days she's a walking basket case. Paranoid. You saw what she was like last night."
"Frightened?"
"Don't play with him too much, Red. Riley's not the kind of guy to take much without snapping."
Hella knew that but she couldn't just stand there and take his condescending attitude without striking back in some way. She considered her behavior on its best terms since she wasn't calling him a liar to his face.
"When she went out into the woods, Trammell was out of her mind."
"I wouldn't know. I didn't know she was out there till I heard her scream. I'd say she was out of her mind then. Anyone would be under the circumstances."
Riley tried the smile again. "That's funny. Parker said Trammell didn't scream till after you fired on the creature that had her."
"Things happened pretty quickly last night. Parker's wrong."
"He's not a guy usually wrong about things."
"He is about this. Are we done here?"
; Riley stepped back and nodded. "Sure. Just wanted to give you a little friendly advice."
"Don't believe everything Dr. Trammell says. Got it." Hella retraced her steps and walked back into the camp.
Stampede growled in her ear. "They're getting all spun up about last night, Red "
"You think?"
"Hey, no need to be mad at me."
"Then you should have let me hit him."
"Maybe. We'll see. You may still get your shot."
As usual, Hella rode point on Daisy, but she was aware of the wingmen Riley had assigned to her. Both guards, one man and one woman, moved awkwardly through the forest. She was certain both of them thought they were being stealthy, but the forest animals cleared out ahead of the hardshelled invaders. Anyone looking for signs of intruders would have spotted them easily.
Klein Pardot hadn't gotten the expedition up and moving till after lunch. By then, they'd wasted half the day and all the cool of the morning. With the rain gone for the moment, the Redblight turned into a sauna filled with the sound of running water as the land tried to drain the excess precipitation.
While she rode, Hella's thoughts turned often to Dr. Trammell. She couldn't help picturing the woman with her little girl, both of them tucked away in some small home in New Mexico. Hella didn't know enough about the country there to guess what the home would look like, but she thought she knew what it felt like. The home would be warm and safe, and only soft voices would be used there.
Everything would smell like baking bread. That was one of the luxuries she and Stampede didn't get while they were guiding expeditions. Even Pardot's group didn't have a way of baking bread.
Don't do that. Don't think about things like that. Stay focused or you're going to get Stampede killed. Hella got angry with herself, and Daisy sensed it. The lizard trilled anxiously beneath her and cocked her head to look up at Hella.
"It's all right." Hella patted Daisy on the forehead and smiled. The smile was a habit. Daisy probably didn't really register facial expressions. The lizard interpreted the world through smells, sounds, and touch. She rubbed her head up at Hella's hand.