Space Hoppers - Dance of the Guinea Pigs

by Jayne Bartholomew

  Simon looked exhausted and dirty. Like he’s been up all night, she thought to herself. I wonder what he was doing?

  “Look up there,” he pointed to the top of the cliff that they were on. “I bet if I got up to the top there would be a really good view of the surrounding area. It doesn’t look too steep, should only take a couple of hours.” Simon started to put his coat on. “You stay here while I try and work out if there are any signs of civilisation.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to do this when the sun was up and you could actually see where you were going?”

  “I don’t want to waste any time. If they start looking for us when it’s dawn I want to know that we’ve done the best we can to make our location obvious. I’ll do what you say and give them a chance, maybe I am being too paranoid but after you’ve seen what I have…” His voice broke and Sarah reached out to touch his arm but he pulled away. He gave a little half shrug. “Anyway, the plan is that I go up really slowly and scope out for them when it’s light. The moon and the stars are quite bright so I can easily see my way if I don’t rush. It’s not slippery, there are obvious foot holes but if I don’t come back within, say, sixteen hours you’ll know something’s happened to me and also not to come looking for me using this path.”

  “It’s very cold though, don’t you think? And we don’t know what the weather’s going to be like, do we?” As she was speaking, a cloud passed over the surface of the moon.

  “I’ll be fine but I think you should go back inside just in case there is anything that might be seen as unfriendly. Cover up with whatever clothing you’ve got in that rucksack of yours and I’ll be back before you know it.”

  In the distance, still out of identifiable sight from scanners, the Pirate ships began to approach.

  For someone who generally had the patience of a blood-starved mosquito, Sarah took waiting pretty well and it was at least half an hour before she decided to follow him.

  It was cold as she stood outside looking up at the dark rock face that Simon had climbed. With a shiver she reached into her bag to take out another jumper and her hand closed on something hard. At the top was the cube that Garth had given her on her first planet expedition. Cautiously she unwrapped it.

  “Simon, Simon! I’ve got a homing device! You don’t need to climb up there!” An owl hooted. “Simon?”

  It didn’t matter, she told herself, she could have the homing device activated before he came down and Xander would realise that she wasn’t totally useless. Although I don’t care what he thinks anyway, she added. Now, which panel did what? Was it the side or the top for the life detector, the other for a homing device and the bottom for an explosion? Or the bottom for a homing device and the side for an explosion? Very carefully, holding the edges, she turned the cube around in her hands.

  Sarah moved further out into the clearing to see if the moon could shine some light on the cube to give her a clue. Nothing. Even lying close to the dying embers of the little fire she still couldn’t see any markings. As the darkness seemed to creep closer to her, she wished Simon had stayed long enough to help her gather some more firewood.

  She walked a few feet away from the fire and scraped out a cube-shaped hole with a stick. She held the cube out and closed her eyes and, willing her senses to help her make the right decision, she placed the cube in the hole so that one side was sticking out. Then she went back into the cave choosing some appropriate-looking stones to throw.

  The dawn having inexplicably refused to show itself, she found that the darkness had now claimed the trees either side of their clearing. The only way she could see the cube was by the shadows thrown up from the smouldering twigs in the fire. The first stone landed in the fire with a splash of sparks, the second went too far to the left and landed without a sound. Sarah bounced the third in her hand muttering to herself, “I just need to press down on the top of the square, doesn’t need to be heavy, just a tap, one more is definitely going to do it.”

  As she brought her arm back and around to throw, the wood in the fire shifted slightly and her attention was distracted by the sparks that were thrown up. She swore as the stone went off course and she caught the noise of the stone as it hit the wooded area to the right. She heard the stone work its way down the branches and heard the cry of a night predator as the stone landed on its back. She could even vaguely see the round-backed creature as it ran, startled and confused, across the clearing and over the cube.

  The force of the blast threw Sarah backwards into the cave and flung her against one of the walls. As she lifted her head a few pebbles started to drop down in front of the mouth of the cave. The cave walls began to shake and larger stones, then rocks, then boulders began to rain down outside and she was forced to retreat further back. Covering her mouth for protection against the billows of dust, she could only watch in horror as the cave mouth filled up with a solid wall of rock.

  Back on the ship Xander and his senior team were poring over screens and maps.

  “Sir, we’ve just picked up unusual vibrations on the planet’s surface.”

  Xander stared into his fourth coffee of the shift and his face cracked into a smile. “Excellent. “Well, at least we’ve found Sarah. We can’t go down and pick her up while it’s dark. Get the team together and we’ll move off at first light.” He went back to his screen and tried to concentrate on locating the travel-holes. It was inconceivable that they had missed the one by the landing site in the first place.

  Huddled against the cave wall, Sarah tried to concentrate to see if she could pick up Simon’s thoughts or feelings but was unable to sense either. The cave was pitch black and not even a small shard of light pierced through the stone blocking the entrance. She tentatively felt around for her bag and sat with her back against the side trying to fight down the feeling of panic. A brief, fevered rummage located the torch she had been using on Earth, before she had been picked up by the bus. The solid weight of the torch was comforting and it clicked into life immediately, throwing a cheerful yellow beam over the cave that seemed to go back further than she had realised. The cheerful yellow beam flickered into a sullen glow and then sputtered out completely. Just as it had on Earth.

  Trying to ignore the way her hands had started shaking and the heaviness in the air, she put the torch back in her bag. Her throat was raw from screaming and shouting for Simon and her hands were stinging from trying to dig her way out. She had been forced to stop when the rocks had begun to trickle into the cave faster than she could handle and she had to block out the image of being buried alive.

  She lay there, blinded by the surrounding darkness and felt the stinging in her hands increase. Clasping her hands together eased it marginally and she found herself wondering morbidly what would kill her first; lack of air, food, water or infection. It was also cold, so cold. Was that shock or planet temperature? She put her head back as tears started to drop onto her cheeks. Back on Earth life had been uneventful, dull almost. It was hard to believe that all those years of normality were going to be cut short following a cave-in on some distant planet. Sarah closed her eyes and started to flex her fingers, palm side up to ease the tingling. Funny, she always thought she was going to be cremated rather than buried. Oh well, maybe some things were better left unplanned.

  Something in the darkness brushed up against her and she swiped at it but only connected with air. I mustn’t let my imagination get away with me.

  Her mind went back to the LIP planet and the brilliant blue stone. Monty’s face flashed past. I hope the crew are good to him, she thought, I hope Garet looks after him. She couldn’t see anyone else taking care of him. Xander would be better for the walking but he was much busier than Garet. Her hands were pulsing now like a trapped nerve. Instinctively her eyes opened and she looked down.

  In the oppressive blackness her hands had pinpoints of blue on them that shone with a fierce intensity and illuminated their immediate surroundings. Moving her hands palm up to palm down she saw that she had bro
ken another nail. Typical.

  Even in her shocked state she realised that if she wanted to survive she should keep moving. Thoughts would come and go but somehow movement was important.

  As her eyes became accustomed to the faint glow, she began to be aware of identical points of blue light on the cave wall further in. Well, that was probably the best place to start if she was going to be moving, she thought. With one hand on the wall and the other on her pack she slowly made her way around the cave to get a better look. Not having explored the back of the cave yet, she silently prayed that she wouldn’t bump into any bats. That would be the worst, she thought, asphyxiation aside, I can’t imagine anything worse then being here cooped up with a ….

  Sarah dropped through another travel-hole.

  “Lost? What do you mean you’re lost?”

  The bus, driven by Garet, was currently hovering about ten feet above sea-level. Lingor looked out of the window as a shoal of fish swam by.

  Garet picked up a piece of paper. “According to the map we should be over the explosion site.” He stared out across the endless vista of wet.

  “Give me that map.” Xander, sitting next to Garet, snatched at it impatiently and checked the computer panel. “You should have gone left instead of right.”

  “When?”

  “After we left the ship. You’re on the wrong bloody side of the planet!”

  “Whoops.”

  “Whoops? Whoops? Is that alcohol on your breath, Garet? How long have you been drinking for this time?”

  Garet fiddled with a control knob. “Since Tuesday.”

  “You’ve been drinking for three days?”

  Silence.

  “Tuesday of which month?”

  Again, silence.

  “Which year?”

  “I have a low alcohol tolerance; I was carrying out an intellectual study to see if I could build up an immunity.”

  “Do you think it’s working?” asked Xander dryly.

  “I think I need to try harder. I’ll turn the bus around, shall I?”

  “Are we nearly there yet?” whined Lingor. “Only, we’ve been sitting here for some time now and a few of us are beginning to feel the need for a comfort break, if you get what I mean.”

  “Um, does anyone have a water bottle? I feel a bit thirsty.”

  “Leader-One, Garth’s trying to set fire to sticks!”

  Xander turned around. “Don’t make me come back there! If I hear any more of this whinging we’re going straight back to the ship and I’m leaving you there. Garet, if you get lost again I’m banning you from any dealings with the bar.”

  “But as the Acquisitions Officer I have to keep it stocked!”

  “I’ll take you off active duties!”

  “Cool!”

  “Just turn the damn bus around, OK?”

  The sky was overcast and grey but the wind and rain was a welcome change to the stifling atmosphere of the cave. Lying flat, unwilling to move in case she fell down another travel-hole Sarah tried to take stock of her new surroundings.

  Huge trees fought for sunlight and raced upwards shooting out thin leafed branches as they spiralled higher. In the gloom of the forest floor, delicate white flowers dotted themselves around the trunks or snaked their way over the bark itself. Unfamiliar bird calls echoed through the area.

  She greedily gulped down the sweet, clean air and tried to use what rain made its way through the mesh of higher leaves to wash some of the dust and grime off. A quick check of her hands showed nothing unusual so she decided that the blue glow in the cave must have been some kind of cave-dwelling insect. She tried to forget that it was the second time her hands had glowed in that way and rigorously rubbed them on the damp grass underneath her.

  The rain was starting to ease off and the sun fought its way through the clouds. She looked around for any signs of life or maybe a river; she didn’t think she had ever been so thirsty before. As she surveyed the surrounding area she was dimly aware of a stillness that washed through the forest. A slightly eerie quietness that hadn’t been present a few moments ago. Sarah stood up, wincing at the way her legs had stiffened.

  Between the densely packed trees she could make out flashes of colour as the rays of light streaming through the branches caught the edge of something gently passing through the leafy boughs. A light breeze picked up and spread the colour so it appeared that a flying carpet was drifting towards her. Pink, gold and blue tones could be picked out as the carpet came closer towards her.

  Sarah stood, spellbound and blissfully unaware as the hunting butterflies of the Namdol moved into their attack formation.

  She laughed with pleasure as the beautiful creatures moved around her and reached out a hand to see if she could get one to land on her. As she reached forward, one of the butterflies swooped down and she felt a small stab of pain on her cheek. When she went to touch the place two more zoomed in and slashed her on her neck and arm. There was nowhere to run as the butterflies surrounded her as thickly as a net so she was forced to crouch down and try and protect herself as much as possible.

  The ground began to shake with a ponderous thudding and the swarm flew away. Blinking back yet more tears and fresh blood Sarah lifted her head as she heard the hunting party approach.

  Sarah tried to shuffle backwards and look inedible.

  “She was in a cave? Are there signs that she moved on?”

  “Yes, sir. The pictures we’ve taken of the planet’s surface show a substantial rock fall at the mouth of a cave a few miles from your location but there is no heat signal from inside. Would you like us to clear the rocks, sir?”

  Xander paused. “Yes, we may need to retrieve a body and at the very least we’ll need to do a search. Find out if you can detect whether there’s a travel-hole inside the cave and if so try to work out where it leads to. Report as soon as you know anything.” He switched the intercom off and turned around. “Garet, I want you to… oh, for the love of… will you stop trying to hide under things, there is no ‘curse of the blue jacket’, it’s just a silly superstition! I want you to go to the cave and get samples of the rocks, see if there are any signs to indicate where they went.”

  The bus glided over the grass before coming to a stop by a rocky outcrop. Monty was first out and ran off without waiting for the others, on his back a short-range homing device fed into a small unit held by Xander. He checked the direction the dog was moving in with a map and felt his pulse quicken. Garet was next and was torpedoed through the door as the others pushed behind him. Martyn, Xander and Lingor fell out after him.

  Xander was feeling increasingly uneasy about the situation. The travel-holes could only be opened using a complex sequence that the planet dwellers had guarded closely. It was not normal for the holes to open on a whim. The landing team moved forward following the Doberman’s trail.

  “Stop! I think we’ve got a reading on the cube,” cried out Garet. “There’s a source of heat over there, at the top of the hill.” The team speeded up but moved with caution and security flanking them. “It’s Simon!” As Garet rushed over, one of his knee pads slipped down and got caught up with a tentacle. This started a domino effect with the pads and Garet lost his footing, tripped up and started rolling forward down the hill.

  Xander watched him go with a feeling of unreality and then turned his attention to the body in front of him. Simon was lying on his side, unconscious, his fingers were bleeding and his clothing and skin was dusty. The red blood from his hands contrasted violently with his grey pallor.

  Xander checked his pulse. “He’s still alive but his breathing’s shallow. Sarah might still be around here somewhere; spread out, look for dry, arid areas. This dust on him must have come from somewhere. Martyn, take him to the bus and head back to the ship while we search. Go!”

  There was a crackle on the intercom and Garet’s broken voice came through. “Am at bottom of hill. Have found explosion centre. Someone else’s blood appears to be on rocks by a cliff. Mine
went on the ground. Could you send a stretcher and a medicinal pint of vodka please?”

  “Garet, stop messing about and take a sample of the blood. Is Monty with you?”

  “Fine. No, Monty did run past me but he sped off before I reached the bottom. I’ll just drag my shattered limbs over to the rock face and check out the unstable boulders then, shall I?”

  “That’s the spirit. Let me know if you find anything.” Xander turned to the crew. “Right, I want two of you to go down and support Garet, the others will join me back in the bus and we’ll track Monty. I think I know where he’s headed to.”

  As Xander and his team made their way to the bus Garet spotted a large yellow and black fuzzy bee heading back to its hive laden with pollen. His mind flashed to an earlier conversation with Sarah. So, humans made alcohol from honey, did they?

  Simon made a small sound and Xander knelt down quickly beside him. He turned to Lingor. “Quick, give me some water. Simon? Simon, can you hear me?”

  Xander gently poured some of the water handed to him over Simon’s face and watched as his lips opened. He cupped his head and let him drink from the bottle before helping him sit up. Simon looked around him and shielded his eyes from the sun with his right hand.

  “You came looking for us?” He gave a wry smile. “This makes it two times that I’ve had to ask for a lift.”

  “Where’s Sarah?”

  Simon took the bottle of water from Xander’s hand and took a long drink. When he’d finished he wiped some of the liquid from his mouth and looked around at the crew.

  “We got sucked down some hole or… something; I don’t know what it was. Sarah and I were about a mile over in that direction.” He pointed towards the cliffs. “We were at the bottom and I was trying to get a better idea of where we were so I climbed up the side of the cliff. There was an explosion and the rocks shifted. I lost my footing and slid along with the rocks that were falling. When I got to the bottom I realised Sarah was blocked in a cave down there that we were using for shelter. I tried to move them but they were too heavy, there was no sound from inside the cave so I decided to go and get help. I remember running and I must have tripped or passed out.”