Project U.L.F. (15 page)

Bobby started to reply, “I did, but…”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Wyatt said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Bobby glared at his back as he walked away. He turned and started to walk toward her again and for a second she feared that he may have sensed the two holes she had been boring between his shoulder blades with her eyes. When he was close he leaned over to her and whispered so that she alone could hear, “I’ve figured out what Chris is,” he said. She pulled away to look him in the eyes and ask the unspoken question—
What
?—before leaning closer again for the reply. “The token medic.” He gave a brief nod of his head, and turned away again.

Either Wyatt had become incredibly cryptic since she had last seen him, or he wasn’t telling her everything. Either way, Bobby was really confused.

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The construction of the second cabin was completed mostly in silence with the exception that Par, who was demonstrating to Kate how to bolt it together, had said to her, “Don’t worry, his bark is much worse than his bite,” gesturing towards Wyatt. Despite such reassurances, her first impressions of the man were not good ones and she began to doubt Alan Chambers’ assessment of his character—
a good friend,
he had said. Kate could think of nothing stranger than Alan and Wyatt being friends. They seemed to be polar opposites.

Alan had also said that Wyatt would “look after her.” So far all he seemed to have done was patronize her or yell at her. She felt cheated, lied to, but she couldn’t go back to Alan, he wasn’t here. Whom could she turn to? On a planet billions of miles from home, with seven complete strangers, Kate suddenly felt very, very alone.

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By the time they had bedded down for the night the weather was already deteriorating. A very large bank of curiously mauve clouds had swept in and the temperature had plummeted with the early obstruction of the suns’ heat giving rays.

Because there were only eight in the crew, this meant that space in the living quarters was luxurious, with four people in each cabin. Wyatt, Kit, Chris and Alex in one, with the two women, Byron and Par in the other. Such sleeping arrangements had been allocated by Wyatt.

Kit’s behavior in the past when in close confinement with women had on numerous occasions been labeled as “questionable”, and Chris, Wyatt remembered, probably wasn’t ready for facing the daunting prospect of getting undressed in the same room as the opposite sex. It seemed only fair that Chris be accompanied by the only other person he knew here, Alex. Kate should stay with Bobby and the other two guys were so used to this stuff that they would be completely unfazed by the sleeping arrangements. Their main priority was to get a good nights sleep rather than to worry about whom they were sharing their cabin with.

Having the two youngsters in a cabin with Kit, though,
Wyatt thought as he lay on his bunk,
is probably a baptism of fire.

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Alex woke, his wristwatch informed him, at 2:17 AM. He wasn’t sure what it was that had caused him to wake up but he guessed it was the hail and sleet that hammered down outside and drummed against the cabin walls. He sat up in his bunk and turned to look out of the window and into the darkness beyond.

The faint light coming from the neon tube that dangled from the ceiling did nothing to aid his vision. Among the rivulets of water which ran down the window, Alex could see nothing but his own reflection. He blinked and looked more closely at his image in the window.
My god
, he thought,
my eyes are yellow
. On still closer examination, he discovered that his pupils had been transformed from orbs of blackness to two narrow vertical slits. He rubbed his eyes and, with them still shut, shook his head before taking another look at his reflection. Again the same pair of alien, yellow eyes looked back at him.

He shifted in his bunk, and as he did so, his reflection in the window mirrored his movements, but the yellow eyes stayed where they were and watched him. The yellow eyes belonged to something else. Something outside looking in at him.

The shock made Alex instantly begin to hyperventilate. Not even able to muster a sound, he began pushing himself away from the window. He tumbled backwards off the bunk and hit the floor with a sickening thud.

Wyatt, Kit and Chris all jumped awake at the sound to find Alex, already on his feet in the center of the room, panting furiously. Chris was first to his friend’s side. “What? What’s wrong?”

Alex could say nothing. With one hand clutching his chest he pointed to the window and tried to speak. “The…thing…side,” he wheezed.

Wyatt intervened. “Here,” he said, “Let me handle this.” Grasping Alex by the shoulders he said, “Look at me,” and then again, more firmly, “Look at me.” Indicating his eyes with two fingers.

Alex’s head snapped up and he looked straight at Wyatt.

“Now calm down,” Wyatt said, “You’re safe here with us. Nothing is going to happen to you. Tell us, what did you see?”

Alex tried to speak and then, realizing he was not yet ready to, halted himself and took another deep breath before trying again. “There…there’s something outside,” he said.

“What? What did you see?”

“I don’t know…what it was,” Alex said between breaths, “I just…I just saw its eyes.”

“Probably nuthin’,” Kit said. “Rookie’s havin’ nightmares.”

“I saw it!” Alex protested.

“No one doubts that you saw
something
,” Wyatt said, “Now. Let’s check it out, shall we?”

Alex shook his head furiously and tried to push himself out of Wyatt’s grip.

“It’s okay,” Wyatt reassured him. “We’ve done this before. Nothing’s going to happen.” He turned to Kit. “Kit, get dressed and grab your gun. Alex, you too. We’re going to put your mind at rest.”

The three of them dressed in the dim light and then gathered behind the cabin door. Kit and Wyatt had their weapons ready. Wyatt undid the two locks on the back of the door and then wrestled with the deadbolt until the door flew open with the force of the wind, nearly knocking him to the floor. He and Kit then stepped out into the wind and hail and onto the tiny platform outside with Alex close behind. They were drenched in seconds. The computer had been right about the temperature, Wyatt thought, it was freezing. Their misty breath, which would have been so indicative of the cold, was whisked away by the wind.

In the conditions, visibility was poor and Wyatt and Kit squinted in vain to improve their view but they could see nothing in the darkness and hear nothing over the wind and sleet.

“See,” Wyatt shouted back at Alex. “There’s nothing out here.”

“Yeah,” Kit sneered, “There’s nothing out here, you little faggot.”

“Come on,” Wyatt said, “What do you say we go back inside and get out of this shit?” Wyatt stepped past him and back into the cabin and Alex turned hastily to follow him. He didn’t want to be out here alone.

As Alex struggled to close the door against the wind he took one last long look outside. Whatever it was he had seen, it was out there.
He knew
. He knew it was out there.

CHAPTER

7

When the team awoke the next morning the temperature was already in the mid-eighties. It would have been impossible to tell whether the ice storm they had experienced last night had really happened if it were not for the few remaining puddles that steamed in the sunlight, vapory wisps signifying their demise.

They took their breakfast in the relative cool of the
Santa Maria
and then, Wyatt decided, they were to have a meeting immediately afterwards in the counsel chamber, directly below the bridge.

The counsel chamber was a circular room in the center of which stood a large circular table. The table was skirted by sixteen swivel chairs which were bolted to the floor. Around its perimeter, the room had a raised cushioned shelf which served as a seat should the places at the table be filled.

It was on this shelf that Kate now sat. She was alone and took the opportunity to scrutinize the others, to try and ascertain for herself the relationships between them.

Near the table, Bobby, Par and Byron were in conversation. They seemed comfortable in each others’ presence, chatting, smiling and sharing the odd joke or anecdote. Their body language also suggested a closeness.

Kate let her eyes wander. The next person they fell on was Kit. He too had perched himself on the shelf and was seated almost directly opposite her. She did not look at him for too long, for he was staring straight at her and he stared at her constantly, not even politely letting his eyes fall when they met hers across the room. There was something in that stare that Kate did not feel comfortable with—it made her flesh crawl. Kit gave her the creeps.

Alex and Chris were the only two actually seated at the table. Close together, they talked in whispers or spoke behind raised hands. Sometimes one or the other of them would cast a furtive look around before resuming the conversation. It looked like they had something to hide. They seemed anxious about something, especially Alex, but Kate had no idea what that something might be.

The door to the room opened and Wyatt entered, circumnavigating the table and crossing the room in silence. He turned and propped himself against the shelf, and the others instinctively ceased their chatting. “Right,” he said, “The purpose of this informal meeting is for us to get to know each other and define what each of our roles will be during this mission. This applies especially to you three,” he said, picking out Alex, Chris and Kate with a pointed finger. “While I am here in my capacity as a trapper, my role here is also to supervise you. I make the calls and what I say goes. If you have a problem with that you can discuss it with me at the end of the day but not while we’re in the middle of a situation. You’re under orders and you follow them. We can’t afford mistakes. Apart from myself…Bobby, Byron, Par and Kit are the experienced trappers here so we’ll be the ones doing the actual handling of the animals, no one else.”

Alex attempted to interrupt, “But…”

“Look, Alex, I know you want to get involved, but here isn’t the time and place. You’ll learn enough from just watching the others this time around.”

Alex looked disappointed.

“You’ll have to trust me on this one. I’m sorry,” Wyatt added. “Okay, I know you all met yesterday but I feel I ought to formally introduce Alex along with Chris and Kate. Alex is a new recruit to the U.L.F. division so he’s looking to learn a lot on this trip. If any of you more experienced people want to share your wisdom with him I’m sure he’d appreciate it.” Wyatt gave a nod in Alex’s direction and received a forced smile in return. “Now then, Kate…” he continued, “has been assigned to us for this mission. Kate is a well-qualified biologist so I’ll be putting her to work as the animal observer and needs requirement officer.” Kate and Bobby exchanged a knowing glance at this news, Wyatt caught it but didn’t question it. “And finally, Chris is our medical officer.” Chris smiled and gave a small wave to the other team members, then hastily replaced his hand in his lap beneath the table.

Wyatt wanted to say more on Chris’ behalf. While “medical officer” was an important position, the statement of his title alone seemed insufficient to warrant Chris’ presence on the team. But what could he say? Wyatt looked across to where the two youngsters were sitting. He hoped they proved their worth very early on. It would avoid embarrassing questions later.

“Okay, we are eight people and we’ll remain eight people at all times. We’re staying as one group for all outings.”

Par spoke up at this news. “Wyatt, I’m not questioning your authority here, and forgive me if this sounds rude—but wouldn’t it be better if we split up into two teams? I mean, we could trap twice the amount of animals in the same time.”

Wyatt was quick to answer, “I understand exactly what you’re saying, Par, but we are constrained by the fact that this group only has one medic. If we had two medics and a bigger team, then of course I wouldn’t hesitate to split them up into two groups But to split this team up means leaving one group of four without medical aid should they get in trouble and also, I’m just not happy with groups of four. If you guys meet anything big out there, and I mean really big, then I doubt that four people will be enough to deal with it.”

Par nodded his agreement. “You’re right,” he said.

Kate was puzzled by the exchange she had just heard. If this was a routine mission, as she had cause to believe, they were all taking it dreadfully seriously. She thought about saying something, about questioning whether she had indeed been assigned to the right ship, with the right people, on the right mission. Surely they should know what to expect out there. Didn’t they have some kind of list of what it was they should be catching? She decided against it. In fact she had decided that the best thing she could do was keep her mouth shut and do as she was told. It was not a situation that she was used to, or indeed, that she was happy with, but if it stopped Wyatt from shouting at her, then she would have to accept it.

Wyatt’s voice broke her train of thought, “Right then. If we’re all set let’s get suited up and go catch some animals.”

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At the equipment store each member of the team was given a huge rucksack. They were unlike any rucksack Kate had seen before, having modified pockets and sections from which poles, nets and other tools protruded. Chris was given a different rucksack containing all of the medical equipment and a battery and radio, obviously for inter-team communication. It wouldn’t be needed on this expedition, but it was an integral part of the kit bag so Chris would have to carry it whether he liked it or not. Wyatt also packed the rucksack with an extra cylinder of oxygen based on what the ship’s computer had told him about the atmosphere.

Each team member then picked up a helmet off the rack, a circular open-faced type with three tiny built-in cameras mounted on its top, two facing forward and the other facing back. They then made their way back toward the exit hatch. The helmet was the only piece of equipment that Kate was given.

They returned to their respective cabins to pick up their body armor and quad-sys guns before reconvening outside. As Wyatt spoke the team fidgeted, making last minute adjustments to their equipment.

“We’ll move in standard formation,” Wyatt said. “Single file. We’ll have to mix it up a bit due to the personnel we have. I’ll take point, followed by Alex, then Kit, Chris, Bobby, Kate, Par, and Byron’s the tail man for now. Any problems?” There were no replies. “Okay. Seeing as this is all new territory to us, we’ll head off in that direction.” Wyatt pointed at the nearest clump of trees. It was as good a place as any to start.

Wyatt turned and walked away, the others falling in behind him as instructed.

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The forest was dense so progress was very slow. Any advantage they hoped to gain from stealth was lost; the sounds of eight people walking through such dense foliage could be heard at a distance of well over two hundred yards. No one spoke, there was no need to add more noise to that which they were already making.

Kate swept her eyes from one side to the next and then back again, searching through the trees for something that moved, something alive. Her conversation with Bobby had excited her and now she wanted that experience. To be the first to see something alien.

The others in the team all scanned the trees in similar fashion, looking for something that they could trap. Their first “bag” of the day. But unlike Kate, in the back of their minds, they knew that this scanning served another purpose. To identify sources of danger. And, unlike Kate, not only did they scan from left to right, they also lifted their heads and searched the tree tops. Danger could come from any direction.

Wyatt stopped the team. “Take on some water,” he said, “Even with the cover it’s damn hot and I don’t want any of you laid up after a day with dehydration.” The others, all grateful for the rest, pulled out their hip flasks and took long swigs. Chris propped himself up against a nearby tree, and closed his eyes. He was unfit and certainly not used to the level of exertion that was being demanded of him now. He took a deep breath in through his nose, then frowned. He took another breath, smaller this time, and his nose wrinkled in disgust.

“Can you smell that?”

The rest of the team all sniffed the air. “Smell what?” Byron asked.

Chris sniffed again, “That!” he exclaimed, as if it were obvious. “Something around here smells real bad.”

“Yeah, I smell it,” said Par.

“Me too,” said Bobby.

Wyatt could smell it too, now. It was a smell he was all too familiar with. The smell of decay. Death smelt the same everywhere. “Let’s check it out, shall we?” he asked. “Follow your nose, Chris. Byron, you shadow him.”

Wyatt knew that where there was a carcass there were likely to be carrion feeders. They were not always the nicest creatures to capture, and not always the friendliest, but they were animals all the same. If they were feeding it was probably the easiest way to locate and capture such animals.

Chris stood and set off in a new direction, his exhaustion forgotten, his mind set on the new task. Byron flanked him closely and the others all followed. As they walked the smell on the air became stronger until all of them were pulling faces of distaste or holding their hands up to their noses and mouths. When it seemed the smell could get no worse they happened upon its source.

There in front of them stood a large tree shrouded in vine-like tendrils. The sinuous extensions of the plant fell from branches clumped together at its top and descended right to the ground, ending in small loops on the forest floor. Through this umbrella of growth the team could see the cause of the stench. Around the tree’s base was a collar of spikes about six feet high, and impaled on these were a number of animals in varying states of decay. A legion of insects buzzed and flew around the rotting mass, sometimes landing to feed on the juices which oozed from the carcasses and left red and green streaks on the trunk.

It was a disgusting sight and Kate had to hold her mouth and look away to prevent herself from being physically sick. She noticed, with a little relief, that she was not the only one. Nearby, Alex was parting with the breakfast he had eaten not three hours earlier.

Wyatt was puzzled. There were no carrion feeders as he’d suspected and with such a readily available food source, this was unusual. He could not believe that there simply were no opportunistic carnivores around. If such an animal could get away with stealing a kill off something else or eating leftovers then it would. It was much easier than hunting down a meal itself. Something was wrong.

Chris carefully approached the tree, navigating his way through the first couple of vines without touching them. It could have been the movement of air Chris had left in his wake, or her eyes could have been playing tricks on her, but Bobby was sure she had seen them move. No, there it was again. More definite this time, a twitch. The vine had definitely moved.