Eden (7 page)

NINE

Jenny sat cross-legged on the passenger seat of the buggy, and finished off one of the large greenish fruits, which she had
labeled
melon because of the texture of its flesh. She sucked her fingers free of juice, threw the stone out of the window, and then contacted Bodie. “At last!” he cried. “I’ve been trying to reach you for ages.” “Bodie, I’ve had an amazing time,” she burst out. “His name is Flitespinter or something similar. His race is violent and unfeeling, that
’s
the message I got anyway. But he was amicable enough towards me - and has been for several days now.” She paused, feeling his shock. “I’ve been making tentative offers of friendship towards him, and it
’s
been working! He
’s
been sharing his hunt with me, and has offered to again, as well! I can barely believe it,” she added.

“
I’m
glad that you
’re
sounding more like yourself, but not glad you
’re
offering friendship with this alien. Christ, Jen, we don’t know anything about his species!”

“I think he really wants to help,” she said. “He seems genuinely concerned about Taurus
’s
predicament -”

“Of course he
’s
concerned,” Matt cut in with a scoff. “You
’re
a hostage, and we
’re
his ticket out of there.”

“
I’m
aware of that. But I’ve been thinking... we can take him home, his home I mean, not Earth. Think of the rewards in discovering a planet full of intelligent life.”

“Shouldn’t that be discovering a planet full of violent, unfeeling, intelligent life?” Matt said, using her words against her. The contact crackled loudly, and when he spoke again his voice appeared fainter. “Put your brain into gear, and think about what you
’re
saying.” “
I’m
trying to make the best out of a bad situation,” she said, raising her voice against the interference. “Unless you abandon me completely we
’re
stuck with him. Fly won’t let you leave again without him, and I can’t imagine any of us overpowering him. Also, I owe him my life, and I’d like to be able to thank him by taking him home.”

There was silence at the other end, and for a moment Jenny thought contact had broken down.

“You
’re
allowing gratitude to cloud your
judgment
,” Bodie said. “We
’re
discussing an alien. A
being
with a different perception and culture, and known to be violent. I can’t allow him on my ship, Jenny, and when we collect you we
’ll
be ready if he tries to gain entry. “

Jenny pursed her lips, but she wasn’t disappointed. She really hadn’t expected anything more.

“Apart from the wolves, are there any other animals?”

“The forest is, or will be, teeming with them,” she answered following his lead and changing the subject. “The planet is coming out of its long winter hibernation. So far I’ve encountered not-so-cute monkeys, shelled creatures with hundreds of legs. I’ve seen distant flocks of brown, wool-covered animals with long skinny legs. There
’s
evidence of another herd, which the wolves send into a stampede every night. Beautiful butterflies, like flying patterned carpets, and -”

The contact between them crackled loudly, hurting her ears.

“Bodie?” She listened, and received no answer, “Matt?” and replaced the handset.

She sat watching the sunset. The largest star had already disappeared, causing the horizon to appear pink; the other twinkled in the aureate sky overhead. It was spectacular. It was a shame there was no one to share it. She looked across at the spaceship. The door had been left semi-open.

He could either be inside or out.

She tried contacting Taurus but the static was too high. The radio ran from the buggy
’s
battery, and it could only mean the battery was low, and she cursed again for their stupidity in forgetting the solar pack. She switched the engine on, and pumped the accelerator several times to charge it, and with the engine running she tried the radio again.

“Come in, Bodie. I need reassurance here.”

“Jen—? Bad con—tion. So--y. Try lat—. “

She switched the engine off, and with the blanket around her she huddled in the driver
’s
seat. It was like waiting for doom, and when the light faded into twilight and the bone-chilling howling began, it was as if she had been dropped into the deepest part of hell.

Fly woke. His eyes flared open. His body was on fire; still on fire from the erotic dream he had been having. The dream-memory of the woman, naked beneath him, still burnt deep into his brain. He took off his helmet, its warmth appreciated while he slept, and stretched lazily, enjoying the last lingering memory as the dream faded.

Flinging off the foil-cover, he rolled off the cabin bed to his feet. Outside he was surprised to see the buggy. He thought the woman had made her camp by the river.

He approached the vehicle silently, and stretched out on the rear seat was the woman with the blanket kicked off, as if her dreams had become nightmarish. Her green eyes were shuttered from his view by pale lids, and a fan of red eyelashes rested upon her cheeks. Her long red hair was tangled, and her face appeared small beneath it.

His eyes travelled down. Her grubby spacesuit was torn in places, and he saw a small part of her shoulder, paler than her face but as smooth. Lying flat as she was he could see the outline of her breasts. His gaze lingered on them for a moment before lowering even further. The suit distorted her narrow waist, but it fit snugly around the flare of her hips. Lower still; thighs, and the “V” shape where they joined, then lower to travel the length of her legs until they came to her feet.

Nearing impulsively Fly could see she was dreaming, and by the racing of the eyeballs beneath her lids he doubted if it were a peaceful dream.

He remembered his own, and closed his eyes as a flare of heat surged his body so powerful he had to grit his teeth. He imagined his swim in the icy water, but it failed its purpose. He wanted her, and he wasn’t certain he could hold off for much longer - he didn’t think he even wanted to try anymore.

She jerked in her sleep, and beneath an eyelid a trickle of water seeped out and ran down her cheek.

Fly felt crushed. Her vulnerability touched something inside that he had never experienced before. But he continued to excuse his own weakness: loneliness had crippled him.

Jenny was woken violently. The noise wasn’t just in her head; it was all around, like a violent wind that had been whipped into a mad frenzy. It surrounded her in an iron wall of alien, soul-destroying cries. Controlling her panic with effort she sat up; moving her legs stiffly she peered outside. The forest was a black mass, so was the spaceship. She picked up the headset and tried Bodie.

Static.

“Hello, Jenny.”

“Oh, Bodie. I... I was afraid I’d lost contact.”

“... battery
’s
low. Don’t worry, Matt
’s
working on T as
we sp “

The message broke up, and she replaced the handset as a shrill, demented howl sounded just metres away. She covered her head with the blanket and sat low in her seat.

A heavy tread caused her to pull the cover away from her face.

She blinked, her eyes focusing in the eerie twilight.

Not far from where she sat in the buggy, a wolf beast was meandering down the hill towards the spaceship. It was almost identical as the one that had chased her. It portrayed gorilla-like characteristics; had the bulk of a bear, the grace of a cat, and a humanoid face. The animal was sniffing the ground, dog-like, around the spaceship.

She held her breath, her heart stalling for a second before thumping in a panicked frenzy. The beast raised itself effortlessly onto two legs and began beating its huge, human-like hands against the ship
’s
door before dropping onto all fours and lumbering away around the side of the ship, and she expelled a breath of relief.

She looked at the vessel; the door was half-open. Had the alien been out? Was he outside now? Hunting?

The whole buggy shook, and the roof above her pressed inwards. Jenny clutched the sides of her seat, her heart a flare of pain.

“What the hell.
”
she began before she
realiz
ed.

Hard nails clattered over the exterior, and the buggy rocked beneath the weight.

It
’s
on the roof! A wolf
’s
on the bloody roof, for Christ
’s
sake!

Jenny, hands shaking, reached for the handset. Immediately she turned it on the static flared into the confinement of the buggy and beyond. She switched it off quickly, her mouth dry.

The buggy shook violently as the beast jumped off. Out of the window she could see it sniffing the ground. It wasn’t alone. Two were frolicking like puppies a short distance away, but they were not cute. Definitely not cute. They looked like creatures from the far side of hell.

Her window darkened, and Jenny couldn’t control the scream that sprang from her lips. She slid across the seat, away from the window, and fumbled on the dash for the flick-knife, but judging by the size of the creatures she knew the knife would prove useless. The creature threw back its head and howled. The noise filled her head and her brain. She covered her ears and whimpered.

Other animals, summoned by the howl, joined their comrades, and the windows of the buggy were completely blocked by their dark images. They were snarling; the saliva bubbled from their over-large square jaws and was smeared against the windows.

Jenny grabbed the handset again.

“Bodie! Help me!”

Interference answered her and the animals howled at the noise. One of them leaped onto the bonnet, its fierce eyes level with Jenny
’
s. She moaned, then slipped to the floor and shared the small space with the brake and accelerator pedal. She curled up as tightly as she could and closed her eyes.

The buggy shuddered. Her body was rattled, and her head became lodged between the wall of the buggy and the pedals.

More static.

“Jen! Jenny, are you th—? Are y-- all right?”

Jenny half laughed.

“Jen, c-- you hear m-?” Bodie sounded frightened.

She moved her head and the pedals grazed her temples. She reached up for the handset but, on seeing her, an animal outside launched its body at the buggy.

The buggy was tipped sideways and for one moment Jenny believed the vehicle was about to be pushed completely over, but it fell back with a crash and her head made painful contact with the floor. A strangled scream locked in her throat.

A beast gnashed its teeth against the window; its humanoid face was flat against the glass as it tried to force its way inside. Hot breath spilled over the pane, and then something on the exterior of the buggy broke.

Jenny opened her mouth and screamed.

“Jen! Start the bu---! Use — horn! CAN Y-- HEAR M-!”

Jenny had heard but she hadn’t listened. Her fear was too
great.

Fly
’s
hand was raised to an animal
’s
throat for the final kill when her scream pierced the air. Instinct caused him to swivel around and run in its direction before any thought could register.

He cursed as he crushed into low branches, and cursed louder when the grass flayed his bare chest and back.

Jenny was terrified. The buggy rocked as though it were a tiny boat on rocky waves. The growling of the animals was as low as thunder, and seemed to vibrate in the very air she breathed. Hands shaking, her body racked with shivers, Jenny fired the buggy.

The wolf-beast on the front snapped at the glass. It had two rows of teeth, one behind the other. Both long and pointed. Its jaws smashed against the window screen, it cracked but held.

Jenny
’s
teeth began to chatter. She fired the buggy again but nothing happened. Above, the roof indented, and the natural parting between roof and buggy appeared. Jenny felt the cool air sweep the top of her head.

She looked up.

Two large flat feet, with nails that were feline, appeared in the
crack.

She slapped her hand against the horn. The beast on the roof jumped off, and Jenny
’s
hopes rose. She smashed her fist against the horn and left it there. The animal on the bonnet streaked away. Jenny exhaled. She licked her lips, feeling the salty taste of sweat on her tongue.

She held her finger against the start button again and the engine fired. She swung the wheel to the left, but gave a cry of alarm as a beast, running on its two legs, rushed the buggy and launched itself onto the bonnet. Jenny fell back in the seat, her hands instinctively shielding her face. The beast made contact with the window screen with a grunt of pain, and clung on and glared at her through the glass.

Jenny stared into the yellow eyes as the engine died.

Others re-appeared and galloped over on four legs. Jenny slammed her hands against the wheel in frustration, and tried to restart the engine. The engine didn’t even flicker.

The hood indented further and Jenny ducked. Above her a snarling mouth pushed through the opening, its teeth snapped air and its carrion breath filled the vehicle.

A distant wolf howled.

Jenny cowered, sobbing.

Her door was ripped open, and her screams tore through the
air.