Dragon Dawn (Dinosaurian Time Travel) (34 page)

He tilted her chin up, lowered her mask, and gently kissed her lips. “Same here, darlin’. You’ve got me ‘til the day I die.”

Drawing away from her, he turned and looked at the plain. She stared after him, seeing the devastated land, realizing it was the end of one world, and the beginning of another. 

She reached out to him, her fingers searching the air, then finding his and interlocking. As he held her hand in silence, her eyes misted over. There was nothing to say, nothing more to talk about. 

This instant was all they had, this flash of existence. Dawn hoped she and Gus would grow old together, yet she also knew she must cherish each moment. 

But that was enough, yes, that was enough.

Chapter 26

Time goes, you say? Ah no!

Alas, Time stays,
we
go.

~(Henry) Austin Dobson,
The
Paradox
of
Time

The room was dark. Gus had been sound asleep in Dawn’s quarters. He opened his eyes. Had he heard something in the distance? What just woke him up?

He reached down, touched the shotgun resting on the floor, and waited. Nothing. No noises. Only the hushed sounds of a sleeping crew, a quiet ship shrouded by night.

Carefully moving away from Dawn, he sat up and looked around. He had to relieve himself, so he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, reached down, and fumbled for his shorts. On the first sweep, his hand made contact with something cottony.
Bingo
. He stood, stepped into his shorts, and pulled them up. For a moment, he debated about leaving his shotgun by the bed, but then instinct won out. 

With a cautious air, Gus grabbed the weapon and limped toward the head. He wasn’t going to use a gun on the ship, but he felt naked without it. He closed the door behind him, used the head, and then moved over to the mirror. He studied his image. His eyes were bloodshot and his mouth tasted awful. Leaning over, he placed the gun against the wall and then passed his hands under the faucet. Water poured out, and he splashed some on his face, then took a swig from his cupped hand. After spitting it out, he toweled off his face.

He glanced at his watch. 0533. Later than he thought. He yawned and stretched. He might as well stay up now. 

He reached for his gun. There was a faint chill on his skin. He looked in the mirror, let his gaze go past his own image, and then checked the bathroom door. Why did he have the feeling someone’s eyes were on him now?

He went on looking around for a moment longer, then, with gun poised, he hobbled back to the door. After cracking it open, he peered outside. 

Even in the dim light, he could see Dawn in her bunk, still fast asleep. He held his breath, listening. Again, there were no unusual sounds. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Why was he feeling so damned edgy?

Go make yourself some coffee. You don’t have time to be nervous today
.

As quietly as possible, he slipped out of Dawn’s quarters and headed for the galley. Perhaps having some breakfast would help him feel things were back to normal.

As if any of this could be seen as normal. He smiled a little then, limped toward the counter, and started the coffeemaker.

Then he heard a high-pitched whine.
No!
In disbelief, he realized what was happening. He’d felt this way only once, when his body had been possessed by the Keeper.

Jesus, no!
Gus grabbed hold of the counter, muscles straining as he sought to fight the alien’s power. 

“No!” he yelled, grimacing. “No! No!”

Just like before, a fog whirled before his retinas and a keening noise rose in his ears. As he fell to his knees, he reached out, arms flailing. In the process, he pulled the coffee machine over on its side. Boiling liquid splashed over his face, arms, and hands, scorching him as he tumbled to the floor. His skin was on fire. Despite the shock to his body, he realized his mind was fading to a deep, dark oblivion. 

Through sheer force of will, he held on long enough to shout, “No!”

He shuddered as his senses went numb. Yet, as his ears fell deaf and his gaze went blank, one last image remained. 

Dawn. He could feel her presence still. She would be there, always there, reaching out to him across the vast gulf of space and time. 

Gus strained one last time, trying to call to her. But his mind slipped away, down, down, down, whirling into the void.

***

Kris’s eyes flew open. There was a crash and then a shout.

“No!” someone cried. “No! No!”

Her heart beat faster.
Gus?

She reached over her bed’s railing and fumbled with things on the nightstand. It took a moment to find her glasses. She looked around. Everything seemed okay. There were no other sounds. Maybe she’d just had a nightmare.

“No!”

That
is
Gus!
Legs still numb, Kris knew she was trapped in her hospital bed. Her thoughts roiled, then floundered. What could she do? What
should
she do?

She grabbed her communicator from the table. Fingers flying, she tried to hail Harry. No response. Tasha next. Nothing. Dawn. Jean-Michel. Nobody! Where was everyone? 

Fear rising, Kris started to try Harry again, but then caught some motion out of the corner of her eye. With relief, she saw it was the commander. 

“Gus, are you all right?” she asked as he started toward the lab. “I heard something weird.” Kris’s voice failed at the sight of Gus’s bearing. He wasn’t favoring his ankle now. In fact, he was moving like some kind of robot.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Say something to me!” To her horror, she saw the burns on his skin. “What happened to your face?”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he lifted his gaze, staring at her blankly. His right hand gripped one of Tasha’s hypos. 

She stared at the hypo, stunned. What was he doing? Then, it hit her. Was that why no one had responded to her hails? Had Gus drugged everybody on the ship?

But why?
Despite knowing beyond all doubt she was still paralyzed, Kris tested her legs anyway, but they didn’t move. She was trapped. Is that why Gus hadn’t bothered to drug her like the others? 

Gus had already moved off, toward the lab. Kris opened the link to Dawn again, hoping to rouse her, but at that very moment Gus came out of the lab carrying a cage filled with several young alligators. With a steady, yet stiff-legged, gait, he walked through the infirmary and passed through the door. Was he heading for the hatch? 

“Dawn!” she shouted. “Dawn, do you copy? Wake up! Something’s happened to Gus, something awful.”

Kris realized her voice had an unreal, horrified sound to it. She tried to gather her thoughts as Gus moved back into her line of sight, walking toward the lab. This time, he came out with a cage containing lizards.

What’s he
doing
? Is he releasing the animals outside?

Gus rounded the corner once more.

“Gus,” Kris yelled. “Look at me – talk to me!”

He plodded on toward the lab. It was the same thing again, but this time he brought out two cages filled with shore birds.

Kris sat there in disbelief, recalling something Dawn had told her. Hadn’t she said Gus’s eyes looked empty when the Keeper possessed him? Was that what was happening? Was the alien controlling Gus at this very moment?

Shit, that’s got to be it!
She just couldn’t sit and let things go on. Fighting against the dead weight of her lower body, Kris twisted, cursing, pushing, and pulling, inching toward the edge of the mattress. She looked down. From this angle, it seemed like a big drop. She swallowed hard, knowing full well she was going to hurt herself. But she had to stop the Keeper.

“Okay, okay. You can do this.” She gripped the partial railing on the hospital bed. With a grunt, she swung herself around, trying to break her fall as her lifeless legs struck the floor. 

Still holding onto the railing, she winced, feeling the renewal of pain; her back was on fire. Had she reinjured her spine?

You can’t think about that now
, she told herself. She let go of the railing and her lower body crumbled. As her hands stretched out to break her fall, she slumped to the floor. Her wrists bore the brunt of the impact, and, to her relief, her upper body felt all right. Now, if she could just drag herself to the doorway, maybe she could somehow get Gus’s attention.

Hand over hand, Kris pulled herself across the floor. Her lower body was dead weight, utterly useless.
Oh, Lord, Kristina Jefferson, move your sorry ass!
  

Straining, struggling, she crawled on. Her progress seemed agonizingly slow. By the time she reached the door, she was covered with sweat.

Gus walked out of the lab again. Now he had a cage full of turtles.

“Gus, please,” she cried out. “Try to hear me. You must!” 

But there was no reply. Just the same dull expression and empty stare.

“Where is the Keeper?” Kris shouted in the most authoritative tone she could muster. “I need to speak to him.”

Gus kept walking toward her. As he stepped over her prostrate body, she reached out and grabbed his leg. Then she got an inspiration. 

“Stop!” Kris insisted. “Eric Gustav Granberg! Listen to me! Eric Gustav!”

He halted and looked down at her.

Kris summoned up all of her courage. “Gus, if the Keeper won’t speak to me, then you must listen. Stop what you’re doing and listen to me.”

But he merely smiled, then shook her off and walked on, toward the hatch.

Damn it!
Kris rolled onto her back. Her brow streamed with perspiration.
Why is the Keeper releasing the specimens? What possible motive could he have?
The questions played over and over in her mind as she struggled along the floor.

It hit her a moment later with a heart-stopping jolt and she knew exactly what the Keeper was doing.
No!
her mind screamed as she visualized the creatures scampering free into the charred brush. 

“Dawn, wake up!” With a pull, then a push, she tugged and twisted herself around until her head was oriented toward Dawn’s quarters.

Again, she moved with painstaking effort across the floor. She no longer felt the injury in her back. She was beyond that now. Adrenaline pumping, she could only hope she’d be able to wake Dawn once she made it to her room.

Hurry – stop the Keeper before it’s too late
. Panting hard, she reached Dawn’s door after what seemed like eternity. She felt relieved to find it standing slightly ajar, relieved, at least, until she pushed it open and saw the motionless form lying sprawled across the bed. Dawn looked pale and lifeless. What had the Keeper done to her? 

“Dawn? Can you hear me?” Kris pulled herself onward, struggling, sweating, shouting at the motionless woman with all her might. “Wake up, Dawn!”

When Dawn stirred and muttered something, Kris felt exultant. Maybe this would work, maybe Dawn would hear what she had to say. “The Keeper has come back!” she yelled. 

The effort to speak now superseded all else, and Kris collapsed on the floor. “Dawn, the Keeper’s in Gus’s body now, and he’s releasing the animals. Dawn, please, you’ve got to wake up! Dawn!”

***

Dawn groaned. Her body felt like it weighed a ton. Nauseous, she turned her head to the side and gagged.
What’s wrong with me?
She retched again, sick with the dry heaves, her head exploding with pain. 

“Dawn!”

She suddenly realized Kris was shouting about something. Dawn’s eyes fluttered open. She tried to understand her friend’s pleas, but the words were scrambled. 

“Dawn! The Keeper’s plan. I figured it out. He’s trying to change the evolutionary path the Earth will take after the K/T. He’s taken over Gus’s body again.”

Dawn rubbed her brow, the pain mind-numbing and overwhelming. “Wh – what did you say?”

Kris let out a whoop. “Oh, yes! You can hear me! The Keeper is changing the game plan. If
Troodon
and the other dinosaurs get out, they’ll survive the K/T. Don’t you see? The dinosaurian descendents will take over the planet. Mammals won’t have a chance. Everything will change.”

Mouth falling open, Dawn sat bolt upright in bed. “You’re saying humans may never exist?” 

“Yes, the Keeper wants the dinosauroids to evolve on Earth.”

“What?” Dawn stared. Kris looked like a rag doll, sprawled on the floor, arms and legs akimbo. “What have you done to yourself?” she cried
as she scrambled off her bed and raced over to her side. “Oh, Kris, your poor back.”

“Don’t you worry about me. Please, you
must
stop the Keeper.”

Dawn glanced at the door, knowing she had to go out there. What would she confront once she left the room?

She looked back at Kris. “But––”

“Stop him, Dawn.” 

Kris was lying there in a paralyzed heap, adamant, defiant, and so very brave, and Dawn fought the urge to reach out to her friend and cradle her in her arms. 

“But Kris, you’re hurt.”

“Forget about me! Go on and stop him. It’s up to you, Dawn. No one else can do it. You must save us!”

***

Three times before Dawn had come into contact with the Keeper. During those times, she had felt strong, yet different, emotional reactions. The first time, she had met the alien with a sense of wonder, while during the second, she’d been filled with confusion. Throughout the third encounter, she’d been possessed by an intense feeling of sexual desire.