Eden (24 page)

TWENTY-FIVE

It was raining, but it was barely felt beneath the giant trees in the forest.

The wood was beginning to appear familiar to Matt. The trees, the same after another, towered above, blocking out most of the light. The leaves on some spanned two or more
meters
. Everything seemed magnified in the jungle. He felt like an ant in comparison.

He hated the forest, hated the ponderous trees, and the way they seemed to take all the oxygen and leave none for him. Even the sunlight struggled in its attempt to break through the thick branches. It was dark, dank and depressing. It totally summed up his feeling of Planet Eden.

Bodie had been fretting all yesterday and today about something Jenny had said, or rather tried to say, at dinner before Fly attacked him for no reason. Something about Fly belonging to a superior race.

What crap!

It was merely another reason why they shouldn’t kill the alien. Bodie disappointed him; the man despised Fly too, yet he was always less keen to do something about it. There were continual excuses: he was told to wait until Jenny had come to her senses, or until Bodie was better, or - and this was a new one - maybe the alien should be allowed to live after all.

Allowed to live? Not if
he
had anything to do with it!

Bodie had been certain that Jenny was about to reveal something about the Itor race before the alien had interrupted her. Matt scowled, and swore some more. Bodie certainly wasn’t the same man who had left Earth
’s
atmosphere all those months ago. If Zack had been here instead, the sparks between him and the alien would
have been spectacular.

Matt more than hated the alien. He loathed him. Picturing him and Jenny together made his flesh crawl - and to think he once fancied a piece of her. He wouldn’t touch her now even if she were the last woman on...

Matt smiled grimly, and forced himself to concentrate. He trudged on, the gun
’s
strap secured the weapon firmly to his head, and it felt light and took almost no effort to use. He had
practiced
until he thought he would see in tunnel vision for the rest of his life, and now his eye was stinging from over use.

Fly was somewhere in front. But it didn’t matter that Matt had lost him because he knew where the alien was heading. He had followed him at every native-wolf call for a while now; he had needed to know here the alien spent the twilight hours, and what he did.

Suddenly the lens that he was looking through was blocked by a tangle of brown hair with tiny, pitiless yellow eyes.

It was the closest that Matt had ever been to one of the creatures that Jenny had named native-wolf, and for a short moment Matt was helpless, but as the beast reared up, he effortlessly made the small movement with his eye and fired the weapon.

The sounds of the forest masked any sound the gun or creature made, and Matt moved on, taking care to be more observant. His ears were useless, the forest was increasingly noisy. His hands were scratched from barbed leaves, and his neck still carried a thick piece of twine like a prize scarf, which had nearly
garroted
him when it had first became wrapped around his neck.

He slowed his pace; knowing in front was the clearing where Fly met with his pack of wolves. He estimated that with a tiny movement of REM he’d kill the entire pack - at least twenty or thirty in this case.

Matt moved from tree to tree, ignoring the gibbering monkey creatures. The clearing was just in front, and the entire pack was present. He smiled, self-complacent, and searched the mounds of tatty, thick hair of the natives for Fly
’s
familiar outline. He wanted him to witness the creatures” destruction.

He frowned.

Fly wasn’t there, yet he had seen him disappear into the clearing.

He pushed up the gun, in case it was making his vision unpredictable; the weapon really wasn’t suited to the human eye, but Fly was definitely not among the breathing. He searched the immediate forest with a frown.

Something heavy fell on him. He threw out a fist in a single punch, while struggling to pull the gun back over his eye. His hand made contact with unyielding flesh, and his knuckles stung from the impact.

His face was pushed into the leaf-caked ground and the gun was ripped from his head. Matt muttered a string of swear words, struggling against the weight that pinned him down. But Fly had the advantage of being on top, so Matt allowed his body to fall limp and, as he hoped, he was flipped over on his back.

He wasn’t prepared for the closeness of Fly
’s
ugly face, or the clawed hands that circled his throat. His hands tore at the scarred fingers that crushed his windpipe but they clung around his neck as if imbedded. Barely able to breathe, he stared up into the alien
’s
eyes.

“What
’s
the matter, man?” he said in a wheeze of breath, trying to feign friendliness. “D-didn’t
realiz
e it was ... was a private party.”

He was aware the wolf creatures had joined them; he could smell them. But he didn’t want to take his eyes off Fly to acknowledge their presence.

“Why have you been following me?”

The hands bit painfully into Matt
’s
throat. He wondered if the
alien
realiz
ed. “You knew?” he croaked.

“Why?”

“I w-wanted to know what hold you h-had over the wolf- people.”

Fly
’s
face remained unchanging. Matt wished Fly had picked up some body language as well as English so he could, at least, guess at what he was thinking.

“They fear me. It is wise not to make an enemy of people you fear. Have you not learned that?”

“I don’t fear
you!”
Matt spat, forgetting he was trying to pretend fellowship.

“But I can smell it.” Fly
’s
claws pieced the flesh around Matt
’s
neck and drew blood. “You came to put an end to your fear. You came to kill me.”

Matt pulled at the hands again. The strength that held him was frightening. Something big and hairy came close to his left ear; he could smell the creature
’s
foul breath.

“Are you scared of my friends?”

“Let me up!” Matt said as loud as he could; unfortunately it came out as a hiss of expelled breath.

“Shall I leave you to them?”

“Jen will never forgive you. Neither will Bodie.” The words came out as a gurgle.

Fly moved his hands and held Matt
’s
neck at an awkward angle. Matt moaned in pain. When the haze cleared from his eyes, he noticed the tossed gun lying almost within reach. If only he could reach it...

Releasing his hold on Fly
’s
wrists, he instantly felt the pressure increase, but it had to be done. He shoved a fist upwards, and connected with Fly
’s
jaw with a satisfying crunch.

Fly fell sideways onto a wolf, which reared up on two legs as
if it were human, and ran away with a high-pitched shriek.

From where he lay Matt quickly followed his punch with a kick to Fly
’s
stomach. As Fly rolled, Matt jumped to his feet and lunged for the gun. The natives made no move to attack him, but danced around with excited, almost human, whooping.

When Fly was on his feet a split second later, Matt was struggling with the gun. The strap was broken, and it wouldn’t stay on.

With a cry of rage, Matt flung the gun to the ground and pulled out the knife he’d found in the basement of the spaceship all that time ago. The blade had been carefully restored; shiny and sharp. He circled Fly, holding the knife out before him.

“You know, alien, it
’s
really a shame it
’s
gonna end like this,” he said, and then thrust the knife towards Fly
’s
belly.

Fly dodged and the blade became tangled in his animal hide poncho. Matt, using his elbow, shoved Fly to one side and pulled back the knife. He swung around, saw his target, and plunged it towards Fly
’s
chest.

The tip had barely touched him before Fly
’s
knuckles blurred in front of his eyes.

Matt
’s
head seemingly spun around. He felt like a character in a cartoon, but the pain was too real. Blood flew from his mouth in droplets, then his body twisted in the same direction as his head and he fell to the ground, his knife spinning away.

He rolled quickly, dislodging Fly
’s
attempt to overpower him again. He aimed another kick to the alien
’s
stomach, and Fly doubled over with a grunt of pain.

The natives began to make loud war-cries. It sounded like nothing Matt had ever heard. Noticing Fly was badly winded and momentarily disarmed, Matt smashed his fist against his jaw bone. He followed it with another blow, and another, feeling victorious. Fly staggered backwards, but didn’t fall. Matt came at him again and aimed another punch at his jaw. This one didn’t make contact.

Pain exploded in Matt
’s
left cheek, nose, chin. Then he
realiz
ed he was staring into a sky of treetops. It took him a while to
realiz
e he had been knocked down.

He raised his head long enough to see Fly standing above him. He seemed to go on forever. His face blurred, and Matt
’s
head fell back on the leafy ground.

“Jesus Christ... son of a mother fu...” Matt clutched his head, rolled over, then sat up spitting out dry earth and leaves. He was covered in them. He opened his eyes, and panic gripped him.

He was blind!

He rubbed his eyes, then opened them again.

The darkness was all around. It was thick and heavy and pressed in on him as though it had substance. He knew he was still in the forest. He could smell the damp leaves; could smell the animals and hear their noise.

He opened and closed his eyes. But whatever he did the darkness was always there.

A low growl caused him to whip round in its direction. A shape rose before him, and reflected eyes glowered at him.

Matt felt his stomach churn. Discovering he wasn’t blind but, instead, was in the thick of the forest at night-time without a weapon, and with a pack of alien wolf-creatures for company, brought very little in the way of relief.

Jenny gave Fly a bowl of soup with vegetables and meat, and watched him raise it to his lips.

“So what happened to your face?” Bodie asked for the second time that morning. He had been watching them closely. His eyes had been constantly searching Jenny
’s
face for any sign of anxiety or fear. There was no fear but it was clear she was distressed.

Bodie had sensed an air of nervousness around her. He had
realiz
ed, with a fast growing apprehension, that Matt had followed Fly again - but this time he hadn’t arrived back; and to add to his worry Fly had showed up at breakfast with fresh bruising on his jaw.

Bodie hadn’t allowed Jenny anywhere near Fly alone. He pretended pain every time she hinted she might slip away. Now, he pulled the foil blanket up over his legs, and watched as she neared him. Her face was definitely anxious.

“Thanks,” he said when she handed him his soup. She smiled, but it was vague.

They sat in silence, sipping the soup.

“Does Matt
’s
disappearance have anything to do with your injuries?” he asked Fly. If Bodie hoped to catch either of them out with bluntness, he was disappointed.

“He hasn’t disappeared,” Jenny answered. “He
’s
been gone for longer before.”

Bodie noticed how she looked at Fly as she spoke, and how strained her voice had become.

“Not for the entire night.”

“It doesn’t get dark here, and he has the gun.”

“In the forest it must get as black as space itself.”

“The gun can see in the dark.” She flashed him an angry look that seemed hinged on fear. “I can’t see why you
’re
so worried about him.”

Bodie stared at her. “Can’t you?” he said with sarcasm, flicking his gaze over to Fly. “Matt doesn’t deserve this. You own him some loyalty, at least!”

At this, Fly grunted.

“He went just before sunset. Almost the same time as you.” Bodie didn’t take his eyes off Fly, and his soup sat forgotten in its bowl.

“Why do you immediately put the blame on Fly?” Jenny flared. “Matt
’s
in no danger, and if he doesn’t show soon, just to prove there isn’t any bad feeling, Fly will go and look for him.”

Bodie
’s
head snapped up. “Are you admitting his disappearance has something to do with Fly?”

She flushed hotly and Bodie knew immediately, before the flush subsided, she had been made to feel caught out. She looked at Fly again, her eyes speaking volumes.

“You
’re
looking anxious, Jen,” said Bodie. He felt the coldness in his stomach rise until it filled his throat and threatened to choke him. “What
’s
going on?”

“I am sure you already know,” Fly spoke to him for the first time that morning.

Bodie controlled his expression with difficulty. “Know what? Did you fight?”

Fly
’s
mouth pulled back in a sneer - or smile, Bodie could never tell. He swung his head towards Jenny. She looked pale and shocked, but not surprised.

“He is in the forest,” Fly said. “He is alive and has the protection of the gun, and I instructed the natives not to harm him. “

“You left him with those creatures?” Bodie was repulsed, but noticed, however, Jenny visibly relaxing like a deflating balloon. She leaned over and patted Bodie
’s
arm.

“It
’s
OK,” she said. “Matt
’s
fine. He
’ll
be scared senseless but he
’ll
be safe.”

Bodie was tired of her. How could she trust an alien being over them? It amounted to betrayal.

“I think you should go and bring him back,” he said to Fly.