by Louise Wise
Jenny stopped the vehicle on the bank of the black running river. She opened the door, and after carefully looking around for the wolf creatures, she stepped out.
Kneeling at the edge of the river she dipped in her hand and shivered as the icy water touched her skin. After washing her hands, and splashing water over her face, she cupped her hands in the river and raised the water to her mouth. It tasted sweet and pure.
Drying her hands on her trousers she went round to the boot of the buggy. Inside were a tool-and first-aid kit, and a thick blanket, which she instantly took out.
She opened the toolkit, and gave a shout of glee when she saw matches. In a plastic bag were pouches of coffee and tea granules. Jenny could have wept with gratitude. She rummaged in the boot for anything that would be useful for cooking. Both kits were plastic, and not suitable as cooking utensils over an open fire. Her excitement changed to frustration.
Becoming resigned to her fate, she pursed her lips and looked around. The ground was rocky with stones and boulders. She sought a large one, cleaned it, then sat in the buggy and began to scrape away the middle with the knife to make a depression in order for the stone to become suitable for cooking in over an open fire.
After time her fingers, wrist and hand became tired, and felt almost as heavy as the stone in her lap.
She sat back massaging her aching wrists, and looked out of the window and was surprised to see one of the suns had set. Looking down at the stone, she scowled. She had hardly made any impression at all, and had merely scratched the surface. Sighing, she picked up the knife in her left hand to continue the work, but yelped and cursed loudly when the knife slipped and almost sliced into her palm. For safety’s sake she swapped hands and began again with fraught concentration.
Later, when the second sun was about to disappear over the horizon Jenny collected more stones to make a small, knee-high, circular wall.
In the center she put twigs and dry foliage, and on the top balanced the now concaved stone. She filled the stone with water and added the coffee granules, and stirred until the smell made her mouth water.
With the corner of the blanket beneath the stone Jenny poured the brown colored liquid into the emptied first-aid kit, and raised it to her lips. It included ash and stone debris, but it was warm and therefore delicious, and worth all her hard effort.
Feeling safe with the fire on one side, and the buggy on the other, Jenny felt an enveloping shroud of peace. There was no sound, other than distant animal chatter. She sipped her drink and leaned back against the buggy, the blanket around her shoulders.
Bodie and Matt, exhausted with space walks, had signed off to catch up on some sleep, and as far as she guessed, base control believed her to be safe on Taurus with them.
She spent the night on the back seat of the buggy, huddled beneath the blanket. It still wasn’t warm enough but at least she was no longer freezing.
The howling woke her. The noise penetrated her brain until her ears sang. She seemed to be surrounded by the wolf creatures. She sat up, her heart thumping, her eyes seeking their shapes in the dimness, but there was nothing. Only the ghoulish twilight - and that hellish wailing that caused her scalp to freeze over and tighten.
She scrambled over the seats to the front. Uncaring whether she woke them or not, she contacted Taurus XI.
“What the hell’s that noise?” Bodie asked at once.
“The wolves. Sorry for waking you, but I n-n-need…”
“I know,” his voice was kind. “Keep low on the back seat, and keep your voice down. “
“Bodie?”
“What?”
“Talk to me. Say anything, but just keep talking.”
The alien ran, his breathing controlled, his legs pumping the ground until they blurred. In the distance his quarry galloped ahead, scissoring sharply, but unable to lose the pursuer.
Out of nowhere sprang one of the forest’s indigenous creatures, its gaping mouth full of sharp teeth. The alien never slowed his pace, but instead spat, and venom from a tiny duct beneath his tongue disappeared in the creature’s matted, hairy body and it fell, instantly dead, in his path. The alien jumped over the corpse like a hurdler, before leaping onto the hoofed animal in front. His claws made contact with its hindquarters as he brought it down. The animal struggled, and quickly the alien slit its throat. He rose and watched the twitching animal as life flowed from its body.
He wiped sweat off his forehead with a bloody hand, and kneeling again, he began to prepare the animal to be eaten.
It was morning. Jenny smiled. She’d survived another night! She rubbed her eyes and stretched the best she could in the confined space of the vehicle. Her back ached, and her neck felt as though it had spent the entire night in the stocks.
She drank water from the plastic box the tool kit had been in, and wondered if it was safe to leave the buggy for a pee. She was hungry too, and the taste of the large alien fruit had lingered in her mouth. Taking the buggy into the forest could prove difficult because of the density of the trees, so gathering fruit was something she had to do on foot.
She wondered, with a jealous scowl, what the alien would be eating today. Her brow wrinkled, and she pursed her lips as a thought came to her. Then she tossed off the blanket, smiling broadly.
She drove to valley of the immobile spaceship, and sat in the buggy watching it while being aware she was losing courage. Taking deep breaths like an athlete before a big race she began to step out.
The radio crackled. “Jenny?”
Conscious of the reprieve, she climbed back in and closed the door.
“Good morning, Bodie. And Matt, if you’re there.”
“Here.”
“We were right,” Bodie said. “The asteroids are responsible for the damage to Taurus. It can be repaired but we’re rapidly losing fuel. “
“You sure?”
“Yep,” his tone was flat. “If we don’t repair her soon we’ll orbit Eden for evermore.”
Jenny fell silent as thoughts of rescue slipped away. She shook herself, feeling ashamed, as least she stood a chance unlike Bodie and Matt - but oh, didn’t she wish she were with them right now.
“What are you doing?” Bodie asked.
“I’m hungry, and I need food. I found a few pouches of coffee and tea in one of the survival kits, and I thought I’d offer them as a sort of peace-offering to the alien. Maybe he’ll help me find food.”
She heard Bodie’s intake of breath.
“Is that wise?”
“Probably not, but I’m hungry, and I can’t see what other options I have.”
“Stay away from him. Stay right away! “
Jenny looked across at the spaceship. The door had been left open, and the black hole it exposed only intensified the alarm in Bodie’s voice.
His shoulders ached, and the pain in his ankle wasn’t going to subside with rest so easily this time. He sat on the bed and crossed his injured leg over his lap. It was slightly bent as usual, but it wasn’t swollen. He would have to live with the pain. To break it for the second time would weaken it even more, and who was to say it wouldn’t set wrong again?
He lay back, reaching for the bottle absently. His fingers brushed air, and remembering, he grunted.
The knock was so timid it barely registered. When it came again he sat up, then crossed the room and opened the door. It was the female. Who else? She smelled of smoke and river, her hair was a tangle of red fire, and her face was soiled and flushed with exertion, or was it fear?
“H-hello,” she said. She attempted a smile.
He didn’t move. For several long seconds, he simply stared at her, trying to make sense of her daring in coming. But he was glad she had come, and he felt momentarily overwhelmed with pleasure that he hadn’t frightened her away completely.
She held out her hand. “I d-don’t suppose you’ll enjoy these as much as the alcohol, b-but they’re all I’ve got to replace it.”
He raised his hand, and caugh
t her flinching as if she were expecting a blow. He shook the small computer in his hand to show her the reason for raising it. And although she glanced nervously from the box back to him she seemed to understand his silent request and repeated herself. When she’d finished, her voice was played back in his language.
He failed to respond immediately. There was something in the posture of the woman, so beaten and vulnerable, which helped him arrive at his decision. From where he came from, the weak were always afraid and nervous; the strong, aggressive and powerful. This woman had courage, which she didn’t know she possessed. She was clearly frightened and nervous, yet not weak. And it was plain to see in her expression that she knew she needed him for her survival - and was terrified of the prospect.
“I’ve m-more, a-and I’ll trade you for food.”
Her voice was played back.
She looked uncomfortable beneath his stare, but he refused to relieve her of it - wasn’t able to relieve her of it.
It was as if he were afraid she would disappear if he blinked. She shifted and took a step back into the corridor. That simple movement pushed him to act, and he reached out to pluck the pouches from her hand. He didn’t want them or need them. The spacecraft still carried an excess of beverages and tasteless dried food. If he wanted he could provide her with everything she needed to stay alive.
He tossed the pouches on the shelf. He knew where she had discovered them, and had himself inspected the human’s vehicle, but had found nothing he didn’t already have.
He reached over and, by the front of her spacesuit, pulled her into the cabin, an action soon regretted, for she recoiled violently from the contact. Letting her go quickly, he bent beneath the shelf that jutted out from the wall, and searched in the small cupboard, bringing out a plastic carton.
“I have food,” he said straightening, and testing his knowledge of the female’s language without the aid of the computer.
She started, and he wondered if he had said something wrong, but probably she was just surprised that he had spoke without the computer’s aid.
When he held out the carton she didn’t immediately take it. When she did he watched, fascinated, as she opened it with the eagerness of an infant.
“It needs hydration.”
She smiled. The relief was so evident on her face that he could be friendly, and her eagerness to appear equally friendly made him feel awkward.
She said, “We have something similar.”
He said nothing, merely watched her. They were alien to one another, yet similar. He had expected to end his days without ever seeing another person like himself again. He hadn’t realized how much he ached to hear a voice like his own.
“Well, er, goodbye…”
Her words pulled him back to the present. She was standing back in the doorway, regarding him nervously from her clear green eyes, and fidgeted from one foot to the other.
“I harmed you.” With an outstretched hand, he touched the side of her bruised jaw with his fingertips.
Her fear made her freeze, and he stared with the curiosity of a man watching an unknown emotion unveiling in another species. His gaze didn’t move, and in the dimness the woman’s features were a mixture of terror and awe, but it wasn’t that that he found so repugnant. The human was more than terrified. She was repelled.
He lowered his hand, and then his gaze. The rush of held breath released from her body didn’t escape his ears.
“Are you comfortable in the vehicle?” he asked, using the computer.
Her fear changed to shock. “It’s OK. It protects me from the animals. “
He doubted it, but he said nothing. They fell into an uncomfortable silence, which she broke in a faltering voice:
“Thank you f-for the food.” She shifted the carton from hand to hand. “May I keep the container? It’ll be useful.”
The small computer crackled and her voice came out distorted.
“Keep it.” He attempted a smile, but the simple gesture was unpracticed and his scarred mouth badly distorted, so the harmless smile resembled a snarl. “We will be useful to one another.”
Her facial expressions were amazing. Her face no longer looked hot, instead it seemed to tighten and lose all visible sign of blood. She swallowed heavily, and took another step backwards.
“I - I’m sure we could be,” and with those words she fled.
The bland meal was better than any three-course dinner at her favorite restaurant, she thought. Better, in fact, than anything she had ever eaten before. She scraped the bottom of the carton with her fingers, smacking her lips, determined to get out every crumb.
Then she wrapped the blanket around herself and climbed into the back of the buggy as though seeking invisibility. Last night she hadn’t slept at all once the wolves began howling, and afterwards her body was too tense for the relaxation of slumber.
She was still able to feel the imprint of the alien’s fingers on her face, and although she was sure his touch had meant to be gentle, she could feel his rough skin where he had bitten into her flesh.
She had been aware her fear was apparent, and had even felt his wonder of her. But somehow she knew the fascination had been for something disturbing rather than wonderful; like rubber-necking on a motorway after a high speed crash.
She shivered, snuggling beneath the blanket, and continued to feel as if she had been under an invisible microscope.
SEVEN
When the howling came the night was as its darkest, and she braced herself knowing this sound would haunt her for the rest of her life. She felt as taut as a clockwork mouse, and just as small. The coffee, which she thought might relax her, shook in her hand and she had to abandon the effort it took to hold the carton still.
She curled on the back seat, with the blanket over her head, but she couldn’t block out the noise. The howling continued for the duration of the night. Her head buzzed, and her heart was pounding so heavily she felt weak from its pressure. When daylight came, she was exhausted, and lay on the backseat feeling emotionally wreaked.
Bodie came on air, and as soon as she heard his familiar voice her composure cracked and she began to sob like a small child.
“I’m sorry this has happened, Jen, I really am,” he said when her weeping had ended. “I wish I were there instead of you…”
Her chin trembled. She felt so weak, her stomach ached with hunger, and the pain in her head was excruciating. But tears were pointless. She took several deep breaths before speaking, and when she did her voice was calm.
“Sorry, hunger and a few sleepless nights have made me irrational… “
“Plus being stranded on your own with God knows what! I’m so sorry this has happened,” he said again. “I made an unforgivable error in leaving Taurus without weapons; without making sure Kate was running properly -”
“I went to see the alien yesterday,” she interrupted. She felt his shock.
“I told you to stay away!”
“He gave me some food,” she ignored him.
“Oh, God, Jen, be careful.”
“I will.” She changed the subject, asking, “How’re the repairs coming along?”
“We’ve repaired the fuel tank, and can now concentrate on getting her to move.”
She felt him hesitating.
“I haven’t told Logan that you’re down there -”
“Nothing should be said at this stage,” Matt broke in.
“I don’t deserve this to be covered up,” Bodie replied.
“Don’t be a prat, Bo, she disobeyed orders. It’s her that doesn’t deserve to be rescued.”
“Thank you, Matt, I’m well aware that it’s mainly my fault I’m stuck here,” she butted back in. “Anyway, haven’t you told home about the alien, either?”
“We haven’t told them anything.” Bodie’s sigh was long and deep. “To reveal the alien’s existence would admit leaving you behind and I’m ashamed that I ran off and left you. What do you think of your dad’s older brother,
now, eh?”
Being reminded they were uncle and niece didn’t rest well on Jenny. Her nerves were on edge, and to reassure Bodie’s tender feelings was the last thing she wanted.
“Maybe it’s the best way. They’ll only want me to follow the alien about, taking snapshots, and collecting skin and hair particles,” this was meant to be a joke but nobody laughed.
She signed off, and gingerly opened the door. At once her eyes fell onto two cartons of alien food, and a bunch of green fruit. She stepped out, and looked around half expecting to see the alien somewhere. She looked at the food, and almost began to cry again, but this time the tears would have been for a different emotion.
He must have placed them by the buggy while she was asleep. How incredibly nice of him. How humane, she thought. Might they be friends after all? It cheered her. She ate one carton, saving the other for later, and devoured two of the fruits in quick succession.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the bulk of a wolf-creature ambling through the trees away from her. Although she felt safe in the buggy, she was also trapped.
When the animal had disappeared from sight she slipped out of the vehicle, but she dare not go far. Just enough for a pee, stretch her legs and wash her face and hands in the river.
Another nightfall came, and Jenny, however hard she mentally prepared herself for the sinister howling it took her completely by surprise once again. But this time she didn’t try to sleep, she sat in the front of the buggy, with the blanket over her shoulders and looked out into the eerie twilight for signs of the alien.
He came, his tread silent. When he passed the buggy’s window, Jenny gave a small shriek of alarm. He held up the cartons of food in a sign of surrender, before lowering them to the ground, and backing away as if she were diseased.
Jenny kicked herself for not being ready and startling at the smallest sound outside. All she had wanted to do was show the alien that she appreciated his kindness - she was sure it didn’t come naturally to him.