Up ahead, a scream from one of the security detail cut through their wonderment and made them all freeze. All but Elida. He rushed forward, pushing through the two soldiers in the front and skidding to a halt just before blundering into a trap. The screaming soldier slumped forward over what appeared to be a very unassuming orange flower of some sort. He was taking ragged breaths, and blood was seeping between his lips. To Elida’s horror, a series of beetle-like creatures emerged from the flower, heading straight for the red blood, and swarming up into the man’s sagging mouth. By this point, everyone had come forward to get a look at the commotion, and now some of the crew had turned away, vomiting into the underbrush unceremoniously.
“How interesting,” Zeke admired breathlessly, taking another step forward to observe the insects at their work as they moved from the man’s mouth back inside the flower carrying little bits of flesh with them on each trip.
“Stay back!” shouted one of the remaining soldiers. “That flower just killed him. Just like that.”
Elida gave the man a doubtful look. “The flower killed him? How?”
Zeke didn’t bother to take a step back. The relationship he was witnessing between the insects and the plants was far too curious to walk away from. He pulled out a notepad and started taking notes, furiously drawing sketches of the whole scene for future reference. His teammates took pictures.
“It just... It just nabbed him when he walked too close. I’ll show you.”
The soldier rummaged around for a little while and found a long stick, then he moved forward until he was close to another orange flower sprouting from the base of a nearby tree. With the tip of the stick, he prodded closer and closer to the plant, his hands and knees shaking with fear. The flower didn’t react. He nudged the plant aggressively with the tip of the stick one last time and then threw it down and turned back to Elida.
“I swear, sir. Those plants are dangerous. Just don’t walk too close.”
There was something odd about the bulbous orange forms, floating just above the ground on long, willowy stems. They were quite large compared to an Earth flower, and he swore it looked like it was breathing in and out, flexing like a muscle with each exhalation. As he watched, he realized that this was also the source of the horrid stench. The closer he got to the flowers, the more he could smell the decay. He turned back around to the soldier that had died, and to his astonishment, found that the insects had devoured most of his face already, or at least moved it inside their home. In all his years, he had never had to leave a soldier behind, but in this case, he was genuinely afraid of what might happen if he tried to move the body away from the harvesting creatures and their strange plant.
“We have to keep moving.”
Zeke begrudgingly rose from his spot kneeling on the soft dirt. Several of the crew members stopped to apologize to the man they were leaving behind, but they knew there was nothing to be done. After all, they still didn’t have even a preliminary perimeter, nor their tents set up. Carrying a rapidly decomposing body full of flesh-eating insects was hardly something they needed to add to their plate.
Elida took the lead, scanning the forest ahead for more of the odd flowers and anything else that might be lurking. One thing was clear: those plants were carnivores, which meant there were other animals nearby. Animals that could be capable of anything. Picking up rocks from the ground, Elida threw them into the bushes ahead, hoping to scare off any predators.
After throwing a rock into a dense patch of shrubbery, a lizard with a long tail scampered out of the way, hissing and spitting at him angrily. He watched as it ran past him, its tail dragging a line through the dirt. With all of his attention focused on the lizard’s tail, the sudden explosion of an orange flower made him jump backward. The lizard had gotten just a little too close to the plant, and it had blown up like a balloon, sending piercing needles out in every direction, which instantly speared the greenish-yellow animal. Then, just as quickly, the flower collapsed on itself, drawing the needle-like appendages back inside, and drawing the corpse with it. Now, the lizard, like the soldier, draped over the side of the flower and insects were emerging in rapid succession.
“Did everybody see that?” Elida asked in awe.
Most of the crew was shuffling about uncomfortably, glancing around for fear that one of these killer plants might be within reach of them. Unlike the soldier, it took only a few seconds for the entire lizard to vanish inside the flower’s opening, and moments later the flower exhaled yet another puff of noxious gas that made their eyes water.
“Fascinating,” Zeke mused. “It appears that the insects and the plants are co-dependent. As if the insects carry the food inside and help the plant digest it, and the plant provides them some kind of protection and constant prey. I can’t be sure, but it looks like the plant and the insects together can initiate some kind of rapid composting process that breaks down their food.”
“Well, all I know is I don’t want any part of that,” Elida responded. “From here on out, make sure we’re all watching out for those things. We’re out of the wind, more or less, so we should start looking for a place to camp.”
He signaled to his soldiers, and they pushed forward, cutting a path through the wall of green. When they broke through, they let out a whoop of excitement and broke into a run. There, on the other side of the dense green wall, was a waterfall. It wasn’t large and spectacular, but it was enough to keep them alive. The water sparkled off the surface of jagged rocks as it trickled down to a shallow pond in front of them.
“Wait! Let the smart ones test it first,” Elida instructed, pointing a finger at Zeke and the other two scientists.
Dropping their sacks at the edge of the water, each of them took out a set of instruments and began testing the water’s composition. Zeke confirmed the pH level and then used a series of test strips to determine whether the water was reactive to other chemicals. One of his assistants jotted down numbers and other observations as they worked.
“We will be here a while,” Zeke announced. Why don’t you guys go ahead and decide where you’re going to set up camp? Leave a radio and a gun with us and we’ll catch up.”
Without waiting for an answer, he turned back to his samples and continued working. The soldiers looked at their commander for a moment, unsure if he would want these men left alone in a place like this. They couldn’t take any chances here, and they’d already lost one more man than they could afford.
“Ferik and Cort, decide on a camping spot. Leave the perimeter supplies here until you’ve identified a place. You’ll move faster that way. Try not to wander too far. The closer we are to water, the easier things will be from here on out.”
Ferik and Cort dropped everything they were carrying except a gun and a knife each and headed back into the wilderness.
“And watch out for the fucking flowers!” Elida called out as their footsteps crashed away.
Looking around at the other crew members, he saw the exhaustion and fear on their faces. For a moment, he felt a tinge of regret at asking them to come along on this mission. He should have known better. He felt responsible for the soldier’s death and knew he would feel even worse if any more of his men fell victim to this planet. Wiping sweat from his brow, he cracked open a small canteen and took a sip of water. It tasted better than any water he’d ever had before. Something about being carried all the way from another star system added to the experience. He handed the canteen around and everyone took a small sip, resisting the urge to take long swigs or pour the cool liquid over their heads.
“Might as well take a rest while we can,” he commanded. “We’re going to need a few people to take the watch tonight, which means some of you should sleep now. Which of you is passable with a weapon?” A handful of crew members raised their hands, and he randomly selected three of them to serve as his patrol that evening. “You three, get some rest, and we’ll wake you when it’s time to move again.”
They didn’t need any encourageme
nt. The three of them dropped into the dirt and leaned back against the bulging supply packs. Their eyes were closed in seconds, and within minutes they had relaxed into an exhausted sleep. Everyone else wandered around, examining the flora and fauna, and chattering about the strange discoveries they’d already made. Some of the men sat down to rest, waiting anxiously for news from Ferik and Cort, and keeping their eyes on the trees.
6
A RUSTLING OF leaves and the cracking of branches brought Elida and his crew out of their relaxed state. Dropping his hand to his weapon, Elida rose and squared his shoulders, ready for whatever would come at him. He visibly relaxed when Ferik’s face appeared and the two men stumbled into the open.
“Thank the gods, you came back,” Elida whispered. “Now tell me you have good news.”
“Yes and no, sir. We don’t really know. There’s a clearing up ahead, not far from here. It will be easy to put our tents down and get a perimeter set up. But there’s a bit of a problem. Another ship crash-landed there some time ago. Whatever lives here did a pretty good job of picking over the corpses, but there are a few supplies we might be able to use.”
“Everybody on your feet! Lead the way!”
Zeke and his men kept their shoulders hunched over their work, excusing themselves from Elida’s orders. He tossed a radio down at their feet and gave Zeke a nod and a wink.
Everybody else shouldered their bags and headed out, talking excitedly. The clearing was closer than they had expected, only a few hundred yards away from the waterfall, although it felt much further as they wrangled their supplies through the grabbing branches and intertwined vines. At last, they dropped their packs and ran around in circles, jumping and cheering at the first good news they’d had since they landed. If Zeke gave the go-ahead for drinking the water, they might be able to salvage the situation.
“All right, let’s get these fences up and get them secured to trees. Anywhere that fences won’t work, we’ll use stakes or wire. Engineers, break everyone up into teams and get to work.”
The engineers each stepped forward, building themselves a crew of five to six people before going in separate directions. They went just beyond the scarred land of the clearing and began setting up fences where the trees grew dense. Ropes and wires wove their way between tree trunks, holding the fences upright and creating a barrier that was semi-permeable to the odd gusts of wind that found their way to the forest floor. It wasn’t perfect and it definitely wouldn’t keep any of the small critters out of their camp, but it would be defensible for his team until they could do better, especially if they built a couple of tree stands. All they had to do was survive one night, and then they could get a fresh start tomorrow.
While everyone else went to work on the perimeter and tents, Elida excused himself to go check out the crashed vehicle. As Ferik said, the remains of the pilots were almost non-existent. A healthy coating of slimy moss grew inside the cockpit, covering most of the control surfaces. He couldn’t see any identifying marks on the craft’s exterior either.
Taking a deep breath, Elida crept closer so he could get a closer look. Dropping down inside the cabin, his boots squelched into the moss and he shuddered despite himself. Listening carefully for any movement deeper inside the craft, he poked his head through a door torn open by the crash. The same moss clung to small crates jostled into disarray by the impact. Somehow the craft had skidded to a halt after hitting the trees without catching fire. There was no way to tell whether the pilots had died on impact, or if something else had killed them first.
With a knife, Elida prodded at the moss, watching as it dripped and re-congealed with every touch. He used his blade to carefully peel away a thick layer of the stuff so he could see what was underneath. Beneath the grotesque ooze was a faded red and orange sun symbol, stamped prominently on the crate. He could see the top of a letter P, or maybe a B, emblazoned in the center of the sun, but it held no meaning for him. Drawing his blade close to his eye, he examined the viscous goo closely, touching it lightly with one finger to see what would happen, and then rolling a bit between his fingers curiously. It didn’t bite, or come to life, or burn through his skin, which was a nice surprise.
He straightened up and headed back to the hole he had come in through. With the perimeter finished, he would bring a few guys back to help him open up these crates and see what was inside. Maybe they’d find something useful in there.
As he trotted back to camp, he was happy to find that most of the area was contained by fences already, and there were only a few gaps in the perimeter left to fill. He noted that they were short on panels to put up, but Ferik had devised a system of interwoven cables and ropes worked around thick branches to build sturdy substitutes where they could. It would have to do.
“Almost done over here, sir,” one of the men called to him. “Should we start on the tents?”
“Just finish up with that section and see if the other teams need your help weaving some of those extra panels. Once everything is secure, we can all work on the tents.”
The soldier hustled off to lend his assistance elsewhere, and Elida stood back to survey the area. With a knife in hand, he walked the perimeter slowly, marking trees that would serve as observation towers at four points. If they could build small platforms up in the trees, they’d be able to monitor things both inside and outside the fence. By the time he had worked his way around, the other two teams were building a makeshift doorway so they could enter and leave the camp when needed while keeping things secure.
“Hey, Zeke, how’s the water situation looking?” Elida radioed.
There were a few moments of silence before static cut through the air and he heard Zeke’s muffled voice. “It’s all good, sir. There will be some challenges, but we can make this work.”
“Good to hear, Zeke. What’s your ETA?”
“Packing up now, sir.”
“All right. We are due East from your location, just past where the creek turns to the South. Watch out for anything hiding out there. One sun is setting, and I expect some wildlife around here to act up when that happens.”
“With all due respect, we’re the scientists, sir.”
Elida chuckled and dropped the radio back to his side. Maybe things would be okay, after all. When he turned back around, construction on the tents was well underway. They had laid two neat rows of six tents each out on the ground, and groups of men were moving from one set of tent poles to the next, raising and staking with smooth efficiency. Sweat poured from their foreheads and soaked through their shirts, but as always, his people carried on the way they knew best.
“Clarke, Sinnett. I need you two with me. Grab a crowbar and a hammer. The rest of you finish up with the tents. We’re going on a treasure hunt.”
Two of the crew members broke away from building tents, stopping to pick up tools, and followed Elida, wiping the sweat off their brows with the back of their hands. They reached the wrecked craft in a few short minutes, and Elida was the first to hop inside. Again, his boots sucked down into the strange mossy substance, but he hardly paid any attention. He slipped through the doorway and went straight to work scraping the moss away. He heard the sound of the other men slogging through the moss, followed by their disgusted groans as they reached him.
“Don’t worry. I don’t think it’s toxic. I tested it earlier. Help me get these crates open so we can see what’s inside. Bonus points if you recognize the symbol on this one.”
Elida pointed at the red and orange sun, shining a light on it to illuminate the details.
“I’ve seen that before,” Sinnett announced. “I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s the symbol of an old earth company. They went out of business a few years ago, bankrupted. They were looking for new sources of raw material to harvest for some new drug of theirs. Obviously, Earth wasn’t big enough for them.”
“Well, let’s get the lid off of this thing and see what’s inside.”
Elida stood back with the light as Clar
ke and Sinnett stepped up with the crowbar and hammer. The top of the crate came apart when they applied pressure, eliminating the need for any heavy prying. As it did, a plume of dust billowed upward, filling the air with a yellow-gray tinge that lingered in the stuffy compartment. The three peered inside, covering their mouths to stop from choking on the dust.
Inside the crate, there were boxes of what appeared to be dynamite and fuses. There was no telling how long it had been there. The boxes were soggy and decayed, crumbling under their touch as they tried to lift them out of the crate.
“That’s no good,” Elida decided. “Let’s try another one.”
Slowly, they moved through the cramped space, opening and examining crates. Much of the gear inside was ruined or rusted, but they could pick up a few extra tools and supplies that might help their cause.
As they headed back to the main camp, a thought occurred to Elida.
“Hey, Sinnett, why do you think a drug company needed explosives?”
“I don’t know, sir. I imagine they needed it to clear roads to wherever they were harvesting.”
Elida gave this some thought and then nodded. It made sense, in a roundabout sort of way. He would definitely ask one of his historians more about it once things settled down. Until then, he needed to consult with Zeke to determine what the next steps were for water purification, and then they could all get some rest. Tomorrow would be a fresh day. The first real full day in their new home.
He noted the second sun high in the sky, beaming down heat and light as if this were a planet of endless days. That would take some getting used to, but according to the intel, they would have a true night every twelve to fourteen Earth days. They just didn’t know where they were in that cycle yet. Judging by the fact that the first sun had set, he suspected that they had four or five Earth days to go before it got dark. There was also the matter of temperature. Who knew how cold it would get during that long night before the dual suns rose again.
Atonement Page 3