“Let me clear these,” she said.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said, beginning to stand.
“Tom, stay here. I’ll go clean up quickly, and then finish that wine with you.” She said it sweetly, trying to hide the nervous energy built up inside her spine.
His hand settled on his glass, and he swirled it slightly before taking a small sip. “Sounds like a deal. Thank you.”
She picked up his plate, and attempted to keep her pace slow as she moved toward the remaining steaks. With her back to Thomas, she set the plates on the buffet’s edge and picked up two of the largest steaks, placing each into their own pocket at the front of her jumpsuit. She folded the bags to seal them in, and hoped they didn’t stick out too much in her uniform. She’d worn a size up tonight, so any added weight would be harder to notice.
Kendra moved to the kitchen, emptying the plates, and set them into the sanitizer. The night was only beginning. She needed to finish her drink and sneak away. Andrew would likely be waiting for her by the lakeside at that moment, and she didn’t like the idea of him out there alone and unarmed.
Kendra returned to the table where Thomas sat alone, and she worried the bags were leaking, or that he could smell the meat and spices, but he didn’t appear to have any suspicions. She sat, taking her glass, wishing she could simply dump it and get moving.
“I should really go to bed. Big day tomorrow.” Kendra yawned, not even needing to fake it.
“How are the recruits doing?” he asked.
“Not great. I mean, most of the colony is making buildings or preparing farmland. They seem to have given me the misfits,” she admitted. Two of her crew had been seen attending one of the reverend’s cult meetings, and Kendra wasn’t pleased about it. She was going to talk to Carrie to see if they could be moved to another department.
“Are they giving your people guns yet?” Thomas finished his glass, and plugged the cork into the two-thirds empty bottle.
She laughed at the question. “They haven’t even given me a gun yet. So much for trust.”
“I don’t think that’s it. This is a dangerous transition period. Once things settle into a routine, I suspect you’ll be one of us very quickly,” Thomas told her.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Kendra mumbled to herself.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing. Thanks for the wonderful evening, Tom.” She stood up, fully aware of the heavy meat in her front pockets. He moved toward her for a hug, and she patted his chest, not getting too close. He seemed to take the action as disinterest, and stepped away quickly.
“Have a good night, Kendra. Maybe we can do this again sometime,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
“I’d like that,” she said, unsure if that was a lie or not.
Thomas left her alone in the entrance, heading for Eden Five, where he slept in his office instead of with the rest of the colony on the open floor.
Kendra scanned the camp, trying to see if there were any prying eyes, and when she felt the coast was clear, she moved toward the lake.
THIRTY
Andrew
Andrew played the part of lookout, watching the deepening shadows between the trees and the moons shimmering red and silver on the lake. They were lucky tomorrow was the start of the weekend, which meant the curfew had been pushed back by a few hours tonight. That was part of a series of compromises Keller had made to keep the colonists happy. No one really knew how long the seasons were yet, but as per Keller’s orders, they’d arbitrarily begun observing seven-day weeks from Earth, with almost everyone taking Sundays off. Others had Saturdays. Reverend Morris had insisted on them having at least one day off, and she had promptly filled both days with church services.
Kendra pulled a pair of thick, juicy steaks from the front pockets of her jumpsuit and laid them out on the ground. Then she injected each of them with a heavy dose of ketamine, using the syringes she’d received from Roland.
Andrew’s mouth watered at the sight of the food, and he blew out a breath that fogged the night with steam. “Hell of a waste of good meat,” he said, rubbing his hands together for warmth. “Pity we can’t just lay Keller out here. Or better yet, the reverend.”
Kendra glanced up with a smile. “You don’t mean that.”
“Maybe I do,” Andrew replied, his eyes scanning the forest once more. “What if it doesn’t work? Maybe to these creatures, ketamine’s a stimulant.”
Kendra straightened and shook her head. “We’d better hope not. Come on.” She nodded to a jutting boulder some twenty meters away. They hurried in that direction, and crouched low behind it to watch the bait they’d laid out.
“Where’s Roland?” Andrew muttered, glancing toward the faint white glow of lights radiating from the camp. He was supposed to obtain one of the trackers from a survival pack and find a way to track the signal.
“He’ll be here,” Kendra insisted in a low voice.
“He’d better. It’s almost time for curfew,” Andrew whispered back.
“We have bigger problems than that.”
“Maybe, but we don’t want to get caught sneaking away tonight. That’ll make this all a big waste of time.”
“He’ll be here,” Kendra said again, her eyes locked on the shadowy tree line. Roland had showed up late earlier in the day, when it had been time to steal the ketamine. Now he was late again. It was becoming a bad habit.
Andrew frowned at Kendra; their proximity and the rapidly encroaching dusk made the moment somehow more intimate. It might have been a good time to make a move, but Andrew remembered that Kendra had just been on a date with Thomas Hartford.
“So, is Tom a good kisser?” he asked.
“What?” Kendra rounded on him, her eyes wide and blinking. “We didn’t... I mean... why do you want to know?”
Andrew grinned. “So you didn’t like him.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Sure you did. Why else wouldn’t you kiss him?”
“I don’t do that on the first date.”
“Well, that’s a waste. Why not? Isn’t that the point of dating?”
“Kissing?” Kendra asked, looking confused.
“No, getting to know each other. You learn a whole lot more about your physical chemistry that way than by talking about the weather.”
Kendra shook her head, seeming nonplussed and uncomfortable at the same time. “We need to be quiet. We’re probably scaring off all the animals.”
“Yeah. Fair enough.”
Silence fell heavy between them, and the last of the light slipped away. Now the crimson field was silver. The moons had switched places over the past couple of days. The red one had become a faint slice, while the silver one was full.
Alien bugs hummed, and nocturnal creatures chittered. Andrew’s breathing sounded loud in his ears. Kendra shifted her posture, easing off her haunches to stretch out her muscles.
A steady drumbeat of footfalls coming from behind them interrupted the stillness. Andrew flinched and twisted toward the sound. A familiar lanky silhouette appeared.
“Got it,” Roland said in a breathless whisper. He flourished a pair of dark items in his hands, one a rectangle, the other a loop of something that looked like a belt. “Wasn’t easy. Had to steal it from Keller.”
“Steal what from Keller?” Kendra asked.
“The tablet,” Roland replied, hefting the rectangular item.
“Good job,” Kendra breathed.
“Shhh,” Andrew added, and nodded to the fore. “We don’t want to be here all night.”
The three of them quietly scanned the tree line, peeking around the edges of the boulder where they lay in wait. Andrew’s eyes had mostly adjusted to the dark by now. The light of the moon sapped the color from everything, but it was achingly familiar. If he ignored the spear-shaped treetops painting a ragged line against the black dome of star-streaked sky overhead, he could have mistaken this place for Earth.
“What’s
that?” Kendra breathed.
“What’s what?” Roland asked.
She raised one arm and pointed.
Andrew squinted to see what she was talking about, and saw it: a dark line winding through the gleaming grass. Something big was coming, crouching low to avoid detection. “Sneaky bastard,” he muttered.
Kendra grabbed his arm and squeezed, the message clear: not even whispering was safe now. If that creature didn’t take the bait, it might decide to go after them instead.
As it drew near the trampled spot where they’d laid the steaks, Andrew held his breath. The air grew still as the others did the same.
Something dark and lithe slipped out of the grass with an almost liquid grace. It was larger than Andrew had expected: black as an oil slick, eyes bright yellow, with four legs and a long, whip-like tail.
It stopped at the bait and audibly snorted the air, opening its jaws to reveal an enormous mouth. A flash of needle-thin white teeth appeared, and then vanished just as quickly. It snapped up the steaks in one bite, barely pausing to chew. Little more than a snack to this creature. Andrew estimated its size to be at least that of a large crocodile, except that it was higher off the ground and much more graceful. The head was round, with a jagged ridge running down the top and two sharp points that might have been ears.
The creature lifted its head and snorted again. A sharp high-frequency sound reached Andrew’s ears, almost like the ringing after an explosion.
“Can it smell us?” Roland asked suddenly.
Yellow eyes flashed to them, and the creature froze as their eyes locked.
“Why isn’t the ketamine working?” Kendra asked.
Andrew had a sudden thought, and glanced sharply at Roland. “Are you sure it was ketamine?”
“I swear,” he whispered, his eyes wide with terror.
A low, mewling growl sounded from the creature, bringing Andrew’s gaze back in an instant. It spun away from them, darting into the grass, and they heard a loud rustling and thumping of feet as it ran away.
“Damn it!” Andrew punched the ground with his fist. “So much for that plan.”
“At least it didn’t come after us,” Roland croaked. Andrew glared at him.
“Maybe you were right,” Kendra said. “It’s possible ketamine doesn’t work on them.”
“Yeah,” Andrew replied. “Let’s go. Maybe we can still sneak back through the perimeter before anyone notices we’ve been gone.”
“Wait!” Roland said, grabbing both of their arms to stop them.
“What?”
“Listen.”
Andrew did. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Exactly. It just stopped running. All of a sudden.”
Kendra caught on first. “Because it passed out?”
Roland burst out of cover, running after the creature.
“Looks like he found his courage,” Kendra said. “Come on.”
“Easy to be brave once the danger’s passed,” Andrew replied as they ran after Roland.
“We don’t know if there’s more of them out there,” Kendra added. They passed the spot where they’d laid the bait, and dashed into the long grass just a few seconds after Roland.
Kendra’s comment brought a grim smile to Andrew’s face. “Don’t tell Roland that.”
“Don’t tell Roland what?” the kid asked.
They came upon him crouching in the grass beside a dark, lanky creature. It had been knocked out, as they’d suspected. Short black fur gleamed with the moonlight. The creature was even heftier up close. Andrew stared at its head. The jaws were parted slightly, a fat purple tongue lolling out. Its teeth were numerous, long and thin, but with big gaps between. For some reason the head reminded him of a jack-o-lantern—except that this maniacal grin was big enough to swallow him whole. “Damn,” he muttered. “That thing’s the size of a bear.”
Roland was struggling with the creature’s bulk, trying to loop the belt he’d brought around its neck. “It’s not long enough!”
“What’s that?” Andrew asked.
“The tracker!”
“Andrew, look at this.” Kendra was crouched beside one of the monster’s outstretched arms. One of its hands was splayed out, four long fingers curled into a fist, with menacing claws peeking from the tips. Too sharp to be for digging.
“Look at what?” Andrew asked, crouching beside her.
She pointed to the outer two digits of the hand. “Do those seem like thumbs to you?”
“Maybe? So what? Monkeys have thumbs, too.”
“Hey, hello! A little help here?” Roland interrupted. “If we don’t find a way to tie this on, then this was all for nothing.”
“Let me see,” Andrew said, and stomped over to the head to take the belt away from Roland. He unfurled it to its full length, glanced at the monster at their feet, and shook his head. “Only way this will work is if we tie it around a leg, but it will probably just gnaw it off. We need a better idea.”
“Too late for that,” Kendra said. “We can’t exactly go back for a longer belt.”
“No...” Andrew trailed off. “But what if we didn’t need to?” He checked the belt, feeling the length of it in his hands until he encountered a small lump taped over it. He ripped it free and held it up in one palm, examining it in the moonlight. “This is the tracker?”
Roland nodded.
“Pretty small. Why don’t we just force it down this thing’s throat?”
Roland glanced at the jaws and long teeth. “I’m not doing that.”
“Move over,” Andrew growled. He crouched into position in front of the mouth, and grabbed onto the sides of its teeth to inch the jaws open until they were wide enough to shove his arm through. Hot, foul-smelling breath piled over his hands and arms as he worked.
“Andrew, are you sure about this?” Kendra asked.
“No,” he replied, and then he closed his hand into a fist around the tracker and thrust his entire arm into the creature’s mouth. It began to cough and stir, teeth tightening around his shoulder and pricking through his skin in a dozen different places. Andrew stifled a scream as those daggers sank progressively deeper.
“Help him!” Kendra cried.
Roland stood frozen to one side, but Kendra landed on her knees beside him and clutched the upper and lower jaws, trying to hold them open. Hot spear points inched out of Andrew’s flesh. Pins and needles sparked in his arm and fingers as he opened his hand and gave the tracker a flick into the monster’s throat.
“Pull your arm out!” Kendra said.
“I can’t,” he gasped. Those teeth were still digging into him. “You have to pry the mouth wider!”
A giant leg kicked spasmodically, sending a clod of dirt flying. “It’s waking up...”
Roland finally snapped out of it and added his hands to help. The monster’s jaws opened another few inches, and Andrew yanked his arm free.
Another kick, then twice more. It was pawing the ground in its sleep.
“Let’s get out of here!” Andrew hissed.
All three of them scrambled away and ran. Hot blood coursed down Andrew’s arm as he went, but it was trickling, and too slow to be serious. Adrenaline sang in his veins, making him feel like he could have fought that monster bare-handed: a delusion if ever there was one. They reached the perimeter of the camp, and spotted one of the guards out doing their rounds. The sound of their pounding feet drew eyes to them—
And a gun.
“Halt! Who’s there?”
Andrew recognized Sergeant Harper’s voice. Thank God for that, he thought, and waved his uninjured arm in the air. “Harper, it’s me!”
“Andrew?” Her aim wavered.
They skidded to a stop in front of her, panting and gasping for air.
”You’re hurt!” she said. “You want to explain what you three were doing out there so close to curfew?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as her gaze flicked over them.
Andrew traded glances with Kendra. She gave her
head a slight shake, but he knew Harper well enough by now. Besides, they were going to need help to pull this off. He explained about their plan, about the ketamine-laced bait and sticking his arm inside an alien monster’s throat to put a tracker in its stomach.
Harper sighed. “Keller is going to lose his shit when he hears about this.”
“So don’t tell him.”
“You know I have to.”
“No, you don’t. Something strange is going on. Give us a chance to explore and find out what it’s about.”
Harper appeared torn. “What do you think you’re going to find out there?”
“I don’t know,” Andrew admitted. “Hopefully nothing.”
“Then what’s the point?”
“At the very least, to locate where those monsters are coming from and find a way to keep them out of our valley. It wouldn’t take much. If Keller was telling the truth about them entering through the mountains, and Hound going to block the passes, then it should be easy.”
“If Hound is busy working on the problem, then why do you need to join him?”
“Because nobody knows where Hound is, and I think that story is simply a lie to keep us all from asking about him. Come on, Harper. I’m not asking much. Just pretend you didn’t see us.”
“And then what? Pretend again so you can sneak out again and follow that thing? What if you get yourself killed out there?” she asked.
“Well, some guns would be great.”
“Holy shit, Miller, ask for my kidney, why don’t you.”
Kendra took a step forward. “Please.”
Harper sighed again. “You’re going to owe me your soul after this, Corporal.”
Andrew grinned. “Haven’t you heard, Sarge? The reverend says I don’t have one.”
Rather than laugh, Harper just shook her head. “That’s a whole ‘nother problem. Meet me around back of Eden Five in ten with whatever gear you need, and I’ll have your guns.”
“We’ll be there,” Andrew replied. “Thanks, Harper.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Let’s see if you make it home in one piece first.”
Andrew took off at a run, heading for the communal sleeping quarters of Eden One to grab his survival pack. Kendra and Roland ran up beside him. Kendra grimaced as the lights of camp began playing over the dark red holes in Andrew’s shoulder. There were dozens of teeth marks, all closely spaced, and his brown jumpsuit was soaked with blood.
Final Days: Colony Page 23