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
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
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