Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  “Equipment will be electronic, doc. All of it. We'll pick up some more books from a school if we can but when they are gone they are gone,” Jayne said. The doctor frowned. He wasn't at all in favor of a pure technical approach to learning.

  “We'll figure it out, doc, one step at a time,” Shane said.

  “I heard we've got a couple more pregnant ladies?” Jayne asked smiling to Jerry. The doctor nodded.

  “How the hell can anyone have a kid at this time?” Bob asked disgusted. He shook his head.

  “Life goes on Bob,” Jayne said, eyes flashing. “I heard one was an accident, but the other was deliberate. People want continuity. They want to perpetuate the race.”

  “I've had to do a few abortions, but now that we're stable people are more interested in keeping the child,” Jerry said softly.

  “Abortions?” Hernandez asked surprised. “Seriously?” he asked.

  The doctor grimaced. “I probably shouldn't have said that much,” he said. “Tired I guess.”

  “First term I should hope doc,” Shane said. Jerry reluctantly nodded. Shane relaxed a little. “Pills.”

  “An overdose of birth control I bet,” Jayne said. They looked at her in surprise. “Old trick,” she said looking coldly at the others. “Sometimes the birth control doesn't work, or a woman forgets to take it.”

  “So...”

  “So people are having kids. Another reason to move forward,” Shane said putting them back on firm ground. He nodded to Jerry and Jayne. “Good to know. Please offer our congratulations,” he said. “Now,” he turned to Eric who had been quiet for most of the meeting. It was his first after all, as farm manager. “I heard you have a problem with the waste?”

  Eric gulped and then nodded. “We need to set up better composting. I ah, I ah, need more space. And people and equipment.”

  “We don't have it already?” Bob asked. “I could have sworn we set something up...” he muttered.

  “Oh you did, you did. But they are small things. I want to set up a larger more centralized system and overhaul our practices,” Eric said. “I ah, I'd like to get more of the waste plant material...”

  “Some of that is either used as animal bedding or food Eric,” Jayne interjected.

  “Um...”

  “You get it in the end,” Shane said puckering his lips.

  “Oh yes, ah, that's true,” Eric said nodding. “I forgot.”

  “Don't worry about it. How goes the farm in general?” he asked.

  “We've got a ten percent reduction in laying by the chickens due to the weather and changing of seasons. I'm forcing a molt. That will cut down production for several weeks,” he admitted.

  “Forcing a molt?” Jayne asked wrinkling her nose.

  “Shuttering the birds in the dark for a period to throw their body rhythm off and reset their internal clocks,” Eric explained.

  “Oh, so its going to mess with the food production?” she asked.

  “A little bit. I'm also going to switch half the layers to laying fertilized eggs.”

  “Why?” Jayne asked.

  “To make more chickens of course,” Eric said with a smile. She nodded grudgingly. “We'll make sure they don't get broody by removing the eggs daily. I'm ah...” he looked uncertainly to Walt.

  “That's why you want the incubator?” Walt asked looking up. The farmer nodded. “Thought so,” Walt said nodding. “Jesse's got the frame done. We'll get someone to work out the racks. Egg cartons if we have to. I'm not sure the egg foam will work.”

  “Whatever works,” Eric said. He turned his attention to Shane. “We'll need to ramp up food production for the birds. I'll need supplements.”

  “Okay, talk with Jayne and the others later and come up with a plan. I take it the composting is a part of it?”

  “A part sir, we're, well...”

  “We don't have everything you need probably,” Jayne sighed. “Just shoot me a list. Me or TJ. I handed off the trading to TJ months ago. She'll see if we can get some of the material.”

  “Might have to range out a bit to get it,” Bob warned. They glanced at him. He shrugged. “Just saying. I'm betting you'll have to go to San Jacinto, or Reche, or Nuevo or somewhere for it. Its not like we had chicken farms in Moreno Valley. At least not big productions like you're working up to.”

  “No ah, no we don't. Which is my second point. The pigs are doing fine. I'd like to feed up the boars for slaughter later if that's possible,” Eric said.

  “Not all of them I hope,” Shane said. “We'll need some for breeding.”

  “We'll breed some to sows and take sperm before slaughter of course,” Eric said smiling.

  “Hot damn, Bacon! Ribs! Just need barbeque sauce!” Bob said smacking his lips and smiling. Even Hernandez smiled at that.

  “Getting there. Having enough to go around is going to be tricky,” Jayne mused. Bob's face fell. “We'll work it out,” she said with a shrug.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Nate smiled; fighting irritation as he tried to hold onto his temper. It looked like Yan was doing a good job of controlling his. He wished Jen was here. “Look doc, we're not saying that the bioluminescence displays are a sign of maturity, although it seems in some species it is. What I we are discussing is the usage of it.”

  “Sexual display to attract mates for one,” Yan said with a nod. “I believe we can all agree on that and the usage of it as a warding off threat display or bluff.”

  “That's...” Doctor Phillips frowned. “I agree on the sexual aspects. I also agree that the activation of the bioluminescence glands are a sign of sexual maturity. We are now seeing them in the older Hellcats and Hounds as well as several of the herbivores. I'm not fully on board with the warding. You'll need to work on your thesis a bit more for it to pass muster.”

  “Can we both agree that if, oh, say a predator is charging a herbivore and the herbivore suddenly lights up it would disrupt a charge?”

  “Okay yes, that does sound plausible,” Doctor Phillips said with a nod as he tapped a stylus against his bottom lip. “I also agree about the warding off of predators. I believe I saw a report on an alien called a Shielder. It uses the light effects with patterns to drive off rival predators and scavengers from kills it wants or made.”

  “Ah,” Yan said with a nod. “It is refreshing to hear you change your mind Doctor,” Yan said with his eyes twinkling a little. “One wonders why though.”

  “I am always a teacher, even though I frequently do not act like it, or do not wish to take up the role because of an interesting puzzle. But one of the methods of teaching is to play devil's advocate,” Phillips said with a smile.

  “So you've been...”

  “I've supported your suppositions many times young man,” Doctor Phillips said as Nate's eyes widened in surprise. “But any scientific hypothesis must withstand scrutiny by peer review. Which means the best way to test it is to find the holes in the argument and then figure them out.”

  “Plug them,” Nate said with a nod.

  “Or at least make sure they are out in the open and not papered over,” Doctor Phillips said with a knowing smile. “I believe Jen...” He paused and looked at the door.

  “I keep expecting her to come through the door as well doctor,” Yan said quietly.

  “Me too,” Nate said with a nod.

  “The best we can do is live on and prove the woman right. Now, I believe most of your argument has foundation but we have yet to find the neurological triggers that allow an animal to control when and how to light itself off. I think a comparison with Terran animals that have the same ability would be in order. So!” He smiled as he smacked his hands together. “Why don't we do some research. Shall we gentlemen?”

  Both men and the intern nearby snorted and nodded.

  Chapter 51

  The kid held up the little thing and grinned as it purred. “Its so cute!” she said.

  “Its a monster, kid.”

  “Yeah, but maybe it
could be a pet. I mean, its little.” She whirled the fur ball around and around. It squeaked and struggled. She set it down and it wobbled on its two legs.

  “It...” Torres shook her head. She wasn't sure why someone would bring something like that into the mall. Something about a sample for doc. And of course they had to bring it in now when the kids were out.

  “Nadya let's leave it alone please,” the girl's mother said, concerned about the thing. “Why did you bring a monster here,” she growled through gritted teeth at the team.

  “Doc wanted it.”

  “Its trouble.”

  “No, its a Tribble. We've seen them here and there. Doc thinks it’s like a rabbit or a mouse.”

  The furry thing waddled around and honked. Its floppy ears kept getting in its eyes, getting it irritated. Its trunk ran up and down things, searching for food.

  Hernandez pulled out of his truck and saw the thing. Something pricked at his tired mind. His memory... he closed his eyes trying to think of what he was seeing. Finally it came to him. He came over grimly.

  “You know what that damn thing is right?” He snarled, waving. “Get that kid away from it. Someone kill it. No, wait, get it outside and then kill it. Drown it in the moat.”

  “Doc wants it,” Yan said coming up at a run.

  “I don't give a damn. He can have what's left of it. That thing is a predator. It just looks cute and cuddly now,” Hernandez said, pushing the team back. The thing fell on its ass and sneezed. When it did its hairs stood up all over its body and they heard a buzzing.

  “It stung me!” Nadya cried, grabbing her ankle. Her mother looked down to see dozens of tiny slivers in her child's ankle.

  “I told you its dangerous!” her voice rising. “Kill it!” she said, voice shrill.

  “Shit,” Ursilla muttered, seeing the front tire near the thing just deflate slowly over a second. The tire was covered in quills.

  “Someone get a bag or something. We've got to get it out of here. I don't give a damn about doc, just get rid of it,” Hernandez snarled.

  “Yeah,” Torres said, picking quills out of her pants. She had been ten feet away from the thing and it had still gotten her. Fortunately her bloused pants had intercepted the quills.

  “Get that kid to the infirmary. Now,” Hernandez ordered. He grabbed a sack from Tom and tossed it over the tribble. It honked in distress. He put a pair of gloves on and pulled the sack tight and then winced as it suddenly peppered with quills. Fortunately they were all caught by the bag.

  “Someone drown this sucker. And warn people not to play with them,” he said, handing the prickly sack off to Ramona. The woman grimaced as she took it by the edge and held it as far away from her body as she could.

  “Can we suffocate it?” Yan asked. “So we can keep the sample? Maybe toss it in a freezer?”

  “Whatever man, just get rid of the damn thing. Dead.”

  “I think we can do that,” Ramona said grimly walking away with Yan on her heels.

  “So... how did you know it was dangerous? Seen one before?” Torres asked, picking quills out.

  “Yeah, you could say that,” Hernandez said, shaking his head. “I saw one when we went on the distraction to draw the aliens off March. One about three meters tall with tentacles all over it. It shot darts that were as long as my forearm. Serrated darts with sharp edges all over that flew over a hundred feet.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, note to teams, kill on sight. From a distance.”

  “Preferably.”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Shane studied the map, rubbing his chin. “So our worst areas are...”

  “Here and here,” Hernandez said, putting his booted foot up on a chair and resting his rifle on it. He pointed to a pair of locations. “The trailer parks are the worst. The damn things get in under the floors and can attack from below if you don't check that first.”

  “Ouch,” Shane said nodding.

  “The senior park here,” he pointed to an area on the map on the other side of the 60 from them. “That's mostly concrete and rock so we don't have to worry about some of the animals in the roads. But there are a few artificial ponds there for the animals to drink from. We've been finding alien plants too.”

  “Naturally,” Shane said, nodding. Wherever there was a body of water or soft wet soil the alien plants sprouted. They grew so fast they crowded out the native plants. Some were hazards too. It was no wonder that the alien herbivores preferred to eat the Terran plants first.

  “I heard Torres lost half a squad this morning, to a burrowed Hellcat,” Hernandez said with a grimace.

  “Was that what all that commotion was all about?” Wayne asked coming into the room. “Ran into something that chewed back?”

  Hernandez nodded to the deputy. “Yeah, you could say that,” he sighed. “Fucker was under a trailer. Big male. Rookie was supposed to sweep under. He stuck his head in, the moron, and got it torn off for his troubles,” he sighed shaking his head.

  Wayne pursed his lips and then leaned against the wall, folding his arms. “Shit,” he said as if it was any compensation.

  “Yeah. Stupid fuck. The Hellcat went on a rampage when the others tried to shoot it out. They were dumb enough to try to shoot at it from right there next to the building.”

  “Um...”

  “It wasn't alone,” Shane said catching on. “A pack?”

  “Yeah. Female under the next trailer over. With kits. Someone got too close and got yanked off their feet and dragged under.”

  “Shit.”

  “Torres is fit to be tied. She had her pyro guy, Tom burn the things to the ground when she got on scene. Should have seen the propane tanks going off,” he said grinning. “Like fireworks.”

  “I'll bet.”

  “She pulled the remaining people back and kept pulling them back as the pack came out flaming. Didn't fire her weapons once. Smart lady,” he said.

  “She probably knew an adult Hellcat would shrug off the stuff she was carrying, no sweat.”

  “Yeah, true. She's been hunting them long enough,” Shane said nodding. “Did the park burn down? We saw the smoke.” Fortunately since it was the first week of February the soil was wet from the usual rains around this time.

  “No, they are close together but a couple of her people got smart and turned sprinklers and hoses on. That controlled it.”

  “Probably pissed her off though,” Wayne said. “I bet she wanted it all burned to the ground.”

  “Probably,” Shane said. He was surprised that the area had water pressure. He frowned and then remembered suddenly that the utilities people were turning on the water ahead of a crew when they went into an area for fire emergencies. They shut it off after. Smart. “Is that why she was after Bob to borrow a dozer?”

  “Yeah,” Hernandez said nodding. “You heard that part?”

  “That Bob told her no but Walt said yes?” he asked and then snorted. “Yeah. But she can't have it until we've cleared the park. I want every scrap of food, propane, medicine, and weapons and ammunition we can find in there.”

  “Boss, the loss of life...”

  “We'll have to be more careful,” Shane said. They looked at him in disbelief. “I'll go. I'll check it out.”

  “Boss, no offense but we can't afford to lose you. Not now,” Wayne said looking at Hernandez in alarm.

  “I'm just going to look. How far did they get in the sweep?” he asked.

  “One street. Torres is sticking to it,” Hernandez said with a shrug. “She had them break for lunch while she argues with Bob and Walt.”

  “All right, here's what we do,” Shane said. “We pull all the teams into that park. Screw the other areas for now. I'll get Walt moving. He's going to need an hour to get his beast loaded up and moving. We'll check the area thoroughly. Smash out every window and door. Watch the ceilings, floors, cabinets, and the works. Harvesters can come in once we've cleared a section, strip it, and
then Walt will bulldoze it. We'll move as fast as we can.”

  “Shit boss, it’s a big park,” Wayne said.

  “We've got a lot of motivated people,” Shane said. “Get them in motion. I'll call Walt,” he said. They nodded.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “This is stupid you know that right?” Torres growled at Shane as he watched a crew checking a building.

  “Our people need the experience Torres. Not to mention the food.”

  “You're going to get people killed, you know that right? For what? Cat food?”

  “For a lot more than that. Besides, that's what they are here for,” he said turning and pointing to a pair of ambulances and nervous looking paramedics. One paramedic was taping a guy's arm. He'd scraped it in a scuffle with a Gremlin. Shane was starting to get a feel for the predators. Larger predators staked out a territory and drove out smaller ones. Gremlins would ignore it unless they had a large enough pack. But Hellcats usually didn't tolerate other predators nesting nearby. Anyway that was his theory. Time to test it.

  “Still stupid,” she muttered looking away. A guy came out of one cleared house holding up an AK-47 in one hand and a shot gun in the other.

  “Hit the mother lode!” he crowed. “Fuck yeah! Gun collection!” he said.

  “Hmmm,” Shane said.

  “Don't say it,” she growled. He snorted.

  “Say what?” he asked innocently. “If it’s stupid but it works, it’s not stupid? That?”

  “No,” she said shaking her head. “I told you so,” she said as she watched the crew pulling weapons and ammo boxes out of the trailer. “Damn,” she said.

  “And if we'd bulldozed it, it would be worthless now,” he said turning and pointing to Walt who was busy tearing up the park. They could see the smoke from the dozer and hear the crunching and screeching metal as the dozer flattened each trailer. It was too bad they couldn't haul all the metal off to Bob and Jesse. They could use it.