by Louise Wise
Fly stood in the warmth of the kitchen, a batch of freshly baked biscuits stood cooling on a stone plate next to a jug of rich red wine made from the fermented red fruit. He turned to look out of the window. The sky was darkening after the setting of the suns, but it was darker than usual because clouds had gathered with threatened rain. He took a biscuit, they tasted of honey, and bit into it absently.
Bodie and Matt could be heard in the distance, singing a tuneless song that had the hallmarks of two men completely stoned.
He picked up his cup and tossed the last dregs down his throat. It was strong stuff. And obviously they had both drunk more than their share before bringing it over. He smiled to himself. Bodie and
Matt had certainly earned his respect and admiration since the accident.
The humans were a complex race to interpret, and he still didn’t understand why Matt had pulled him from the wreckage.
He reached for the jug of wine and tipped another generous measure into his cup. He saluted the pair from the window until, with Jenny ushering them onward, their shapes disappeared into the darkness.
He was, at last, content with life, and able to feel happiness for the first time. He felt sad for the could-have-been friends he left to die in the spaceship. He wondered how it would have turned out if, in a moment of composed rational thought, they all pulled together.
A sudden tensing of his body caused the cup to jerk in his hand, and wine slop over the top.
He peered up into the thick cloud, and saw again a light break through the overcast sky. It died away as quickly, only to reappear in another part of the sky.
He wondered if he should keep what he had seen to himself, but he knew that was both unfair and selfish. He had been both in the past - but this wasn’t the past anymore. This was the present; a present shared with Jenny.
But for how much longer?
She came into the house, and he heard her as she removed her outer clothes, stamping her feet free of frost and snow.
“They are going to have bad heads tomorrow,” she said, coming into the kitchen. “But it’ll serve them right.”
He didn’t look at her, but bent closer to the pane until his breath obscured his vision.
She stood next to him and looked from the window with a frown. “Is something the matter?”
Impatiently he rubbed at his misted breath on the pane. “I saw a red light in the sky. “
“A what?” She peered harder, scrunching up her eyes.
“A light,” he said again on a swallow. “I saw an infrared light in the sky. It was searching the land.”
She stared at him, and then a slow smile grew over her face. “My God, they’ve come for us!”
She began to dance around the kitchen with a feverish glow on her face. When her excitement had gathered some control she pulled her boots back on, threw on her fur poncho and went outside to scan the sky.
Fly followed more slowly. The night sky was thick with cloud, and no light burst through like before. He could have imagined it.
“It wouldn’t go without landing, surely?” she said anxiously. Because she sounded fearful Fly was eager to reassure her.
“It is foolish to travel such a distance without landing. The light was probably searching for signs of life. “
She nodded without taking her eyes off the sky.
“I will go over the river and take a look,” he offered.
She shivered and pulled the cloak more firmly round her shoulders. She touched his hand as he was about to leave, and he turned towards her with ardent need, but she only smiled before turning and walking back into the house.
Fly stood among the debris; frozen grass and weeds prominent in his old dismembered spaceship. He looked up at the sky and wondered if this new craft would be able to detect its presence.
As he wondered, a small red light passed overhead and he instinctively ducked.
The light hovered, circled, and became larger until Fly, body low, ran to the safety of the thicket edging the forest.
A light flared out from the base of the spaceship and picked out the flag planted all that time ago by Bodie before the killer plant attacked him. The light continued to span the ground as the shape of the vessel formed, and became larger.
The night was filled with its noise, but Fly was fleetingly relieved by the craft’s small size before he turned and ran back the way he had come.
He pulled open the barn doors violently and disappeared inside. He searched for salvaged objects among the clutter, and made a pile with them by the door.
“What are you doing? What’s all that noise? Is it the spaceship? Has it landed?”
Fly barely looked up at her from his crouching position. “Go back inside, everything is controlled.”
“But Fly… “
“Go!”
He felt her hurt, but was too preoccupied to care. He sat on his knees, hunched over the objects he had sought, and with careful precision, he wired up two explosive devices.
A long moment later he carried them out to the bridge, placed one in the middle and the other at the far end, flicked a switch and waited…
“What’s going on -”
“Jenny!” he cried in exasperation, and threw himself at her as an almighty explosion ripped open the sky, sending up a fountain of water, shrapnel, and pieces of bridge.
After the blast, the alien spaceship sounded muted. They lay on the frozen ground with the smell of burnt timber all around them.
Fly hauled her up, cutting off her angry words by spinning her round and marching her towards the house. She protested all the way, and glared balefully at him once he released her in the kitchen. She was visibly shaking, and he was certain it wasn’t entirely the cold.
“An unknown space vessel had landed.” His eyes scanned her face. “They must not find us - must have no evidence of me.”
“I know!” she cried. She looked murderous, and she slammed her fist on the table. “I’m not stupid! I know that, Fly. Th-they mustn’t know your existence and they won’t, will they, because you’ve blown up the bridge!”
“Not just my existence, Jenny. They must not know of yours either until we are certain of who they are.” Fly watched her face as his words sank in. A faint muscle tugged in her cheek, and her anger visibly fled her body to be replaced with that perceptible calm he so admired.
“I have to remove every trace of the bridge,” he said.
“Wouldn’t they have heard the explosion?”
“Not over the noise of their craft.”
“Could it be an Itor ship? Maybe they’ve come for you -”
“Itor would not travel that distance for me. But it is possible it could be them for an entirely different reason. “
Jenny nodded, thoughts chasing one after the other on her face. “If they find us?”
Fly didn’t want to answer. Instead he said, “Only a detailed exploration could find this house. I found the prairie by accident, the entrance from the beach looks like a cave, and the only other entrance is the bridge, which I have destroyed.”
“The chimney!” she cried. “I’ll go and sober up the others and make sure they haven’t lit a fire.” And she rushed from the room to put out the fire that would signpost their whereabouts.
“Make them understand that it may not be from earth.” It was almost as if he wanted it to be anything other than human. And all he could think of, as he left to remove all trace of bridge from the bank, was that he couldn’t bring himself to ask if she would leave with them if the ship proved to be from earth.
Somehow the courage in that ordinary question deserted him.
THIRTY
The sound of the vessel dominated anything else. The booming river, and the frightened and angry noises of the forest animals, faded into oblivion.
Green illuminated eyes told them they weren’t alone, but as strange as Bodie thought it, the giant wolf-demons never approached them when Fly was present; and glancing at his face, and at his ow
n illuminated eyes the reason was stark to see.
Fly led them through the space-black forest, and when they emerged, the twilight seemed almost garish. At the edge of the wood, he stood and pointed.
Matt whistled between his teeth.
“Is it one of ours?” asked Jenny.
“Can’t be certain,” replied Bodie. “Can we get nearer?”
They inched closer; their bodies low to the ground. They bypassed the valley, and hid themselves behind slowly developing post-winter bushes.
The noise of the spaceship gradually died, and in return the noise of the native-wolves grew. Their dark shapes could be seen running in and out of the tall grass.
“I recognize it,” said Bodie at last with glee. “It’s Taurus’s sister. Taurus XII.”
“Are you certain?”
Fly sounded curt, and Bodie sensed an unease in his alien friend, which he understood at once - Jenny.
The first jubilant feelings since being told of the spaceship’s landing diminished; in their place was a quiet dread, which lingered as a pain in the pit of his stomach. He rose from his crouch and backed away. A short moment later the others followed in the same foreboding silence.
The three occupants inside Taurus’ sister sat in silence. Each saying a prayer of thanks that they had landed safely, but knowing their journey was only the half way mark; and planet Earth, friends and family were now in another existence.
“My God, what have we landed on?” Logan said, peering through the porthole next to him. “It doesn’t look like it should’ve been called Eden at all. “
Helen clicked the dials into place, and the engines of the vessel gradually died away. Then she turned towards Logan, still looking grimly out of the porthole.
He shook his head sadly and said, in that same downhearted tone: “It should’ve been named Bleak, or Grim or something.”
“That would be because of the dim star system orbiting Planet Eden,” the vessel’s computer said in a deep, masculine voice. “They are several thousand degrees cooler than our sun, and because of that they will continue to burn for far longer. “
“Planet Grim - that has a good ring to it,” Perry agreed ignoring the voice. “And I’ll also be glad when we can turn that blasted computer off. “
“I’m going to hack it to pieces with an axe when we’re home,” Helen said. “Can’t go for a pee without it telling me how much body fluid I’m losing.”
Logan stood up. “Jesus, my body feels like lead. Perry, do you have the guns? I don’t want any of us to step outside without being armed. Bodie mentioned wolves of some kind.
“There will be little point in looking for bodies, so I suggest we merely continue with the mission. Is everyone agreed?” Logan said.
The others nodded, saddened at the thought of their lost comrades, although excited at the thought of stepping onto an unknown land.
Jenny watched as Fly walked out of the room. He’d been acting strangely since Taurus XII had landed.
Matt was pacing the floor before a cold fireplace. He was weighing up the advantages and disadvantages in going back. So far he’d come up with only one disadvantage and a million of advantages. The disadvantage was leaving Fly behind, the advantages he was counting off his fingers: “Electricity, a flushing toilet, central heating, not having to kill and skin your food before you eat it. TV and books, my God, I never thought I’d miss reading a book -”
“Family,” Bodie said. “Sue, my daughter and the grandchild I’ve never seen.”
Matt nodded. “Friends too, our homes, the moon! Christ, I miss looking up and seeing one moon.”
“Chocolate and shops,” said Jenny happily. “Shoes! My God, can’t believe I’ve lived for so long without worrying about shoes.”
Bodie and Matt exchanged glances.
“We don’t want to alarm the crew,” said Bodie. “They think we’re dead, after all. Don’t want them to shoot us,” he added.
“We could make a flag,” said Jenny. “A white flag and wave it on approach. “
Matt’s eyes fell on her, as if a thought had just occurred to him. “What’re you going to do?” he asked.
“Do? What d’you mean, do?” said Bodie.
Jenny stared back at Matt. “I’m not coming with you, if that’s what you mean,” she said, and felt Bodie’s shock. “My advantages are all here.”
“Oh, don’t be so ridiculous,” said Bodie. Then looked unsure, as if he’d realized that what she’d said was a certainty rather than a doubt, and she wouldn’t be returning with them. “You are joking, aren’t you?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “I’m staying here.”
There was a moment’s silence as he digested this new information. Then,
“Is there any way I can change your mind?”
“No way at all. I’m staying behind, Bodie, and no lectures please.”
He looked hurt. “I wasn’t going to give any! “
She bent across him on the buggy settee, and kissed his bearded cheek. “Well, that’s an improvement.”
He grunted, still looking shocked that she’d not be going with them. He looked at Matt. “Say something to make her change her mind,” he said.
Matt shrugged. “She’s in love with Fly. Nothing I say will get her to change her mind, Bo.”
Grinning, Jenny rose. “I’ll go and make us all a drink - and find Fly. “
Bodie scrambled to his feet, and placed two hands on her upper arms, stopping her exit. “You have to be sure. No use changing your mind when we’ve left.”
She sighed. “I won’t change my mind. I can’t take Fly with me, can I? Your reactions were bad enough!”
“But, Jen, love -”
“What shall we say happened to you?” asked Matt, interrupting Bodie before he could launch into one of his lectures after all.
She looked at him gratefully, and stepped neatly out of Bodie’s hands. “That part is simple.” She flashed him a wicked grin. “I died in the crash, and my body was eaten by wolves. “
Bodie shuddered, as Matt laughed.
“You mother will be distraught! I don’t think I could bring myself to tell he began.
“Close family you can tell the truth. We still have the camera from the buggy somewhere, don’t we?”
He nodded, puzzled.
“A happy picture of me will hopefully bring some sort of comfort to her.” She softened, seeing he was beginning to realize she was serious about staying.
“Maybe you should think some more about this -”
“Bodie!” Jenny said warningly, and he stopped.
“She’s a big girl now, Bo,” Matt said. He rubbed his hands, his face cracking into a wide grin. “So, this is finally it! We’re going home.”
Bodie began to smile, and soon both men were grinning maniacally at one another.
Jenny let out a sigh of relief. Thinking up ways to tell Bodie had been harder than actually telling him; as though he had known subconsciously that she would be staying.
“I shall miss you. Don’t you dare forget me, will you?”
Both men reacted spontaneously, and kissed each side of her cheek.
“That would be like forgetting to breathe,” Matt whispered against her ear. Before she could react, his hand was on the door. “I’ll fetch the camera,” he said, his eyes downcast in embarrassment, and then he was gone.
Jenny touched her cheek, dumbfounded.
“Try to think of something more tasteful for your pretend death,” said Bodie, breaking into her thoughts.
“If it weren’t for Fly, the wolves would’ve killed me. Let’s stick to the basics, you know it makes sense,” she said. “And the alien spacecraft, if they find it, was already destroyed with no sign of life.” She deepened her voice to sound monstrous: “The entire crew were believed to be eaten by the same creatures that ate me.”
Bodie threw her a disgusted look, and she grinned widely back.
Fly, his back towards her, was unaware of her
approach. She could see, from the angle that he held his head, that he was desperately worried.
How could Bodie possibly believe she would leave him? He was her world.
“They’ve gone.”
He turned at her words. His dark eyes, seemingly sightless, fastened onto her face. They were stone dry.
“Matt’s gone to find the camera, and Bodie wanted to collect a few souvenirs.” She came further into the kitchen.
“And you?”
“I can’t take my souvenirs.”
His swallow was hard. Jenny had never seen him look so lost and helpless before. She crossed towards him and touched his hand. “Would you mind if I stayed? I mean, it’s your planet, after all.”
The dampness in his eyes returned. “Are you sure?”
She began to smile. “Only if you want me to.”
“Oh, I want you to!” He grabbed her and held on to her tightly. Burrowing his face in her hair. Jenny hugged him back, tears forming in her eyes.
“But you have the opportunity to go home.” He held her at arms” length and looked down at her. “You have a mother… family. I don’t understand.” He paused and swallowed again. “You must not stay just because I want you to.”
Jenny knew how much that simple sentence must have cost him. Selfishness was an Itor man’s strongest emotion, and breaking away from it must have felt strange, if not unpleasant.
“I had no intention of boarding when it was a figment of Bodie’s imagination, and neither shall I now. Oh, Fly, this is what love is all about: giving up things, changes… “ she smiled, and watched the fear pass over his face to be replaced with enlightenment.
“Then I must love you, Jenny.”
“That’s Logan, himself.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s the controller at the base. Our boss, if you like,” she replied to Fly’s question.
A single sun was setting in the horizon, together with the impossibly close moon. Logan and the two others were standing in silence, watching the free show. When both moon and sun sank, leaving behind a colorful spectacle, a cheer rang out.