Floxham Island ~ Sinclair V-Log AZ267/M (15 page)

“And how do we
make sure it’s aligned perfectly?” Cap asked, his engineering brain
already working on the same wavelength as Hank’s.

“There should
be a sensor on the mag receiver that fits over the mouth of the
power outlet. Another one sits over the generator nipple and the
two of them will only link up and connect when they can both see
each other perfectly.”

“So how do we
do that?” Luggs asked, his voice now slightly higher in pitch that
signalled his rising annoyance.

“We look for
the little blue lights,” Hank smiled.

“Blue lights?”
I remarked with a frown.

“Yeah,” Hank
nodded. “The sensors will light up blue when they’re properly
aligned and the power should begin to flow automatically around the
whole laser network and the net will be back up to full working
power within seconds.”

“So you mean we
just jiggle them around until we see blue?” Carl asked and Hank
nodded.

“Well
yeah.”

“So what are we
waiting for?” Bud grinned.

“Wait guys,
wait,” I said, holding up a hand as Luggs stood and headed towards
the door. “Look outside.”

“Huh?” Luggs
remarked and I nodded towards the windows beside the main door.

“Look,” I
repeated. “It’s already late afternoon. It will be dark here within
a couple of hours and I really don’t want to be outside there in
the dark. We should wait until the morning and think about doing it
then. We’ll have the whole day on our side and none of those flying
things to worry about.”

“Aww c’mon
Sam,” Luggs grinned. “Don’t go all limp on me now buddy.”

“He’s right,”
Hank said and Luggs’s smile fell from his face. “It’s a job that
can’t be done in a few minutes and remember this isn’t really my
bag. Although I know the principle of it I’ve never actually done
something like that on this scale under these conditions. Even if
everything goes perfectly to plan it’ll take over an hour and then
we have to get there, hope there’s some tools, do the job while
fighting off creatures and then get back.”

“And remember
as it gets darker and darker, there will be more and more creatures
and they’ll get bolder and bolder,” Boy added.

“And there may
be creatures we haven’t met yet,” Grelly remarked. “Worse
ones.”

Between the
twelve of us we hefted all the desks we could find from the offices
and piled them against the main door. By chance I found a couple of
brooms in a cupboard and propped them under the handle and Luggs
burst out laughing.

“Well Sam,” he
guffawed. “Thank god you found those brooms. For a minute there I
thought we were mincemeat.” The little reception area was filled
with the sound of twelve men laughing their heads off and I had to
admit, it was funny.

“You can laugh
guys,” I tutted at them with a grin, “but if these things prevent
those things from getting inside here, you’re gonna be awfully red
faced in the morning.”

“Yeah okay,”
Luggs replied between guffaws. “Come on then guys, let’s get into
the lab and secure the place huh?”

Baz and Hank
shifted the nutri vend into the main lab while the rest of us began
shifting tables and desks and everything heavy we could find.
Grelly came running in with a bin liner full of snacks he’d
discovered in one of the cupboards and an empty 5 gallon can that
once contained something blue.

“What’s the can
for?” I asked.

“We’re in here
all night Sam,” he grinned. “Maybe you can wait till the morning to
take a piss but I sure as hell can’t.”

“Oh sure,” I
grinned. “Yeah, of course.”

“Hey guys,”
Carl called out. “If anyone needs to take a shit, can you go do it
now?” The lab was again filled with the sound of twelve guys
laughing their heads off.

We spent a
relatively quiet evening barricaded inside the lab. We passed the
time by exchanging life stories and the guys got me to tell them of
some of my more memorable adventures chasing the various criminals
and crazies I deal with. The guys told jokes and we laughed till
our sides ached and for the first time in ages I felt like one of
the guys. It then occurred to me just how long it had been since
I’d been able to just chill with some guys and have a laugh and I
felt sad that it took such an awful situation to make it happen
again. We agreed on a three hour watch rotation and half of us
settled down to sleep on the cold floor of the lab. In my dreams I
woke up and found myself alone except for hundreds of hairy
humanoids all accusing me of wasting all those years of evolution
and telling me how ashamed they were of what I’d done with my
evolutionary advancement and when Flark shook me awake for my turn
on watch, I felt worse than when I’d gone to sleep. I must’ve
looked it too.

“You okay Sam?”
he asked with a frown. “You don’t look well buddy.”

“Huh?” I yawned
and rubbed my hands through my hair. “Oh yeah I’m fine thanks. Just
a nightmare I guess. Anything exciting happen?”

“Nope,” he said
and shook his head. “Just a few growls and screeches in the
distance and a couple of times we heard something thudding on the
main door but I don’t think they’ve broken through, yet. Must be
those brooms of yours.”

“Okay,” I
grinned as I got up and headed to the nutri vend for a hot drink.
Several times during our three hour watch, we heard haunting howls
from somewhere outside that creeped us all out and a couple of
times we heard thumping from the main door. The last time we heard
the thumping, it was followed shortly by what could only be the
clatter of wood on a stone floor. Luggs burst out laughing so hard
he spilled his drink and soon we were all in tears of laughter.
Just as the end of our three hour watch was drawing close, we all
heard the unmistakeable cry of something huge right outside the
main door. The cry was accompanied by several loud thumps on the
door and although I couldn’t explain it, something about it made me
stand up and head for the door of the lab.

“What the fuck
is that?” Luggs said as the cry and the accompanying thumps came
again.

“It sounds like
something huge,” Grelly added.

“I know this is
gonna sound weird guys,” I said, “but something about it makes me
want to go and take a look.”

“What?” cried
Boy. “You’re crazy.”

“Maybe,” I
replied as the cry came again, “but it sounds like someone in pain
don’t you think? I wanna go take a look anyway, humour me huh? Now
help me move all this junk will ya?” We managed to make enough room
for me to squeeze through into the reception area and I crept
towards the main door. Suddenly the door was thumped violently and
the remaining broom fell to the floor but this time I didn’t laugh.
The cry came again and I was certain it sounded like someone in
pain. There was just something desperate about it that got to me.
Gingerly I peered through the glass at one side of the door and
gasped in shock at the scene that greeted me. Outside the door was
a huge male hairy guy thumping for all he was worth on the door.
Beside him, on the ground lay a screaming and obviously heavily
pregnant female. Movement caught my eye and I looked into the gloom
behind them to see three hunchbacks lumbering towards them. My mind
snapped into action and I didn’t wait to debate with myself as to
whether I was crazy or not, I just went into auto mode.

“Guys,” I
screamed. “Guys, get out here quickly and help me please. Guys,
guys?” The six of us hastily moved the barricade enough for me to
open the door and I reached for the handle.

Luggs put a
hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure Sam?” he asked. His hesitation
was understandable but I hesitated for no more than a second before
yanking the door open and stood looking up at the hairy guy. Our
eyes met and for a moment, time stood still. After just seconds the
spell was broken and I beckoned to him to come in and stood back as
he lifted the female to her feet and stomped into the building with
us. We rearranged the barricade and I replaced the brooms before
turning around and sighing. This was the first time I wondered what
the fuck I’d done but it was too late now, they were in there with
us and we had to hope my hunch was correct.

“Come on guys,”
I said as I led the way, “let’s get back into the lab huh?” We
moved towards the lab and I continued to beckon to the hairy guy.
He looked at the lab door, then back to me, then down at his female
who gave another loud cry, before lifting her up and following us.
The commotion woke the sleeping guys, who all nearly fainted when
they saw the hairy guy lumbering in behind us.

“It’s okay
guys, relax,” I said, trying to sound confident. “He won’t hurt us.
His female is in labour, at least I think she is. Does anyone know
how to deliver a baby?”

“I don’t
believe this is happening,” Dex said rubbing a hand over his face
and sitting on the floor.

“I once watched
my sister give birth,” Cap said. “She went into labour early and we
couldn’t get her to the medical facility in time, so her son ended
up being born at home. It all seemed to happen naturally and she
just yelled her head off and pushed.” He shrugged. “Sorry, I’m not
much help but that’s how it was.”

The hairy guy
laid his mate down at the far corner of the room and was whimpering
as she cried out and kept looking over at us. The way he looked at
me told me that he wasn’t just an anxious father. Something was
wrong and he wanted us to help. What the hell I was supposed to do
was beyond me so I leapt up and headed to the nearest digital
console and tapped in
‘problems giving birth - humanoids’
and waited. A screen came up with a whole list of things that could
cause problems, many of which I was able to dismiss right away. How
long she’d been in labour was a mystery to me so I took a stab in
the dark and opted for
‘baby stuck in birth canal - possible
causes.’
I read a bit and then ran over to the female. This
could be very awkward as I needed to see her most private parts and
wasn’t quite sure how the big guy would react. Taking a deep breath
to calm myself, I looked at him and smiled and nodded slowly. He
whimpered at me pleadingly so I took another deep breath and
reached out to the female. As gently as I could, I spread her knees
and looked at her crotch area. As she moaned in obvious agony, I
could instantly see something trying to force its way out so I
reached out and gingerly felt around with my fingers until I
realised I was feeling a tiny bottom.

“Oh shit,” I
cried.

“What’s up
Sam?” Dex asked.

“It’s coming
out bottom first. What the fuck do I do?”

“That’s gonna
tear her apart,” Baz replied.

“You’ll have to
push it back up,” Luggs said. We all looked at him accusingly but
he raised both hands. “I’m not joking Sam. Wait until she’s between
pains and then push it back a tiny bit and you’ll free up the legs
so they can drop down and come out first. Just a tiny bit mind,
don’t be forceful about it or you could do more damage. Then use
your fingers to gently free up the legs so they can drop down.”

“Aww hell I
can’t believe I’m doing this,” I groaned and took another breath.
When the pain seemed to finish I inserted my fingers again and gave
a tiny push. Nothing happened so I pushed a little harder and felt
my fingers go inside her a little further. “It’s working I think,”
I cried. “I felt it move back up.” This was encouraging so I gave
another push and it moved some more.

“Get your other
hand in if you can and feel around for the legs,” someone called
from behind me. Leaning forwards, I reached up with my free hand
and was able to insert two fingers. For agonising seconds I rooted
around and was just about to despair when I felt a thigh wriggle
between my fingers. It felt wet and slippery as I scrabbled my
fingers down over a tiny kneecap and then clasped the lower leg and
wriggled it free. The guys gave a cheer as they saw the leg dangle
from the female’s crotch and I sighed and grinned.

“Now the other
one Sam,” Dex called. “Go on, you can do it buddy.” The female’s
breath came in short gasps and I had to wait as another pain
ravaged her and threatened to push the baby back down again. Once
the pain dissipated I reached back in and easily found the other
leg now that the first was out of the way. It was a much easier
task to wriggle it down and both legs dangled free at last. The
guys gave another cheer as I retrieved my other hand and sighed
with relief. Suddenly the female gave another almighty push and a
tiny hairy gal shot out into my lap. She was lifeless and I went
cold. Suddenly Luggs was beside me and grabbed the little one and
rubbed her back vigorously. Within a few seconds she began to cough
and splutter and give a weird mewling noise. The guys all cried out
in relief and I grinned from ear to ear. Sighing heavily and now
sweating profusely, I gently laid her on the ground by the female’s
belly and we stepped away.

“Well done
Sam,” Dex said and clapped me on the back. “That was fantastic work
buddy. Good work Luggs, how did you know what to do?”

“My grandfather
had a farm and I used to help him when his animals gave birth. He
always did that if any of them were lifeless at birth and it often
brings them back. It encourages their breathing reflex or
something.”

“Awesome job
you two,” Baz grinned as all the guys congratulated us and I felt
proud.

“Did that
really happen?” I asked with a grin and began to laugh. Pretty soon
the lab was once again filled with the sound of twelve guys
laughing their heads off and in the far corner, a new life began
amidst the violence and turmoil on Floxham Island.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

To say that was
a weird experience would be totally underestimating how it felt. I
mean c’mon, how often does a guy get to deliver a baby to a huge,
hairy humanoid throwback huh? It’s not exactly on my job
description and not something I would ever have expected to be
doing but I think I handled it well considering the circumstances
we were in. The guys and I got ourselves a drink from the nutri
vend to wet the little gal’s head and Luggs even came up with a
name for her.