Aliens: A Hunter's Wife | Ch. 02

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

I wake up in the captain's quarters, alone. I roll out of bed to turn off the alarm that's started me from the strangest dream. Only flashes of it remain. I was in a dark cavern, like a mining cave, lit only by dim but luminous mosses. The sound of chittering and purring rolling in my chest--unlike any I've ever heard before.

The sound follows me into the bathroom, ticking around in my head both sonorous and alien, equally unsettling.

Stumbling into the bathroom I clutch the sink and stare into my reflection. I look tired, I can see the wear of sleepless nights affecting my skin. My lips look a little swollen, and stained a brighter color than usual from the bright lip stick I didn't wash off right last night. It takes a little cold air, blasting from the dry-sink, but eventually I manage to wake myself up.

After that it's attempting to rearrange my appearance into something professional. It's a worthless effort though. I only ever end up looking awake which has to be good enough.

The day goes by in as much of a blur as the party. The gathering, the role calls, the takeoff.

First launch is a spectacular event, though. Lurching forward in the first pods that detach from the Rosemary and list into the darkness of space over the planet surface. Then feeling the thrusters engage, and the craft hurtle through the atmosphere of a virgin planet, the seat rumbling and the rush of being pushed back into the chair as we accelerate.

Down, down, down, it's just a rush of red and purple streaming across the windows, and the pilot flipping switches as they prep for an assisted landing, which happens with a jolt as the thrusters quickly decelerate the craft and land us at the site.

Time always seems to slow that first step I take off the transport vessel, and look around this little patch of the world that will become home base until other equipment sites can be set up. The secondary crew will touch down, with all the equipment and supplies needed for buildings and housings. The Rosemary would stay in orbit until the mining colony was established, returning home with me and the other investigatory personnel along with the first lot of minerals, to get us and hopefully the ROI TOUGH was hoping for back in Earth space.

It's a beautiful planet, unnamed as of yet by anything more than a string of letters and numbers, but Earth like and lush. We've landed on a bald field at the crest of a large swatch of tree-like laden mountains and the air is clear and sweet.

The smell of water means the dips in-between the mountains hide streams that run throughout the forested lands. Tall tree-like lifeforms, tall with canopy greenery but trunks made by thick vinelike structures, speckle the distant landscapes and flowers that look almost familiar litter the meadow. While spring here, the grass is more yellow than green, and the trees have oddly twirling branches and leaves that are just enough different to mark the mind as abnormal.

This is not Earth, but it almost feels like home.

The rest of the crew comes down in the following hours. The first of them are there to set down the initial drill lines immediately, so the breaking of ground can happen while the unfrozen miners establish themselves above. It will take several days to dig out the first of the holes which will be the starting heads of the system of tunnels which will become the mining operations body over the next few years.

My job didn't stop at getting the equipment on land though, my responsibilities only ended when the settlement established and the mining managers had all been woken from cryo. The first step would take a week at most, the second a month of passing hands, and the final phase--extraction--at least another few weeks' earth time.

Already I couldn't wait for my turn in the pods. There was nothing more restful than a few years of deep cryostasis sleeping and waking up unaged but lightyears away from where you'd fallen asleep.

Until then, I worked.

These first few days of touch down always pass by frantically. Sera won't stop gushing about the planet's minerals and the surfaces beauty while the mercenaries busy themselves with setting up camp and establishing rendezvous and guard rounds to fend off the wildlife.

There is little time for idle chatter these first few days. I'm busy with getting the recently reawakened up to speed on the current situation so they may get to work as soon as possible, but soon enough the operation is running without my eagle eyes watching each task carefully.

Like usual, by the time I start to get used to the off-beat solar cycle of this planet my work is nearing completion. The miner's colony is well on the way to being complete and the miners intend on pulling the drill up this morning to get a look at the soil composition so me and the other managers can decide on what direction to start drilling first.

The days here are longer than on Earth, and even longer than the conscripted day night hours on the Rosemary that were meant to prepare the crew for life on this planet. But when there was a lot to do it wasn't difficult to fill up the extra hours. It's been shockingly smooth working, and as I looked out over the field while a pale green and pink sunrise colored the alien sky, I figured if this was going to be my last excursion it would make a pretty good send off.

Though it was early, the miners are busy removing the initial drill line to keep on schedule. And by mid-day they would be ready to send down people and more complex equipment to start digging out the surrounding area. I watch the careful trudge of the workers as they handle the massive machines, pulling many levers and cranks which are assisted by those who must lift and manipulate the various pieces into the right positions. From my balcony, I can see the outline of the first big ground penetrator as it's lifted out of the ground in an orchestrated maneuver.

There are a few shared hopping hollers amongst the men, which is quickly settled by their supervisor. I can almost hear the 'Get in lines boys, we'll have time to celebrate later' before the gruff mine operator freezes. Gaze fixated on the edge of the hole, I only notice how unnaturally timed his stiffness is when the holopad falls out of his hand and cracks on the ground. He instantly grabs something on his belt and the resounding jolts in the air tell me it's a gun, but whatever he's seen in the pit doesn't seem to care about the bullets.

The peace of the morning is finally broken by his blood curdling scream. But it is only the first of many.

Technical men and women were now running for their lives, tripping over each other to get away from the fresh hole in the ground they've only just uncovered. I'm far enough away and high enough up to see them fleeing, though I can't see what could have scared them all so terribly.

The screams have attracted the attention of the mercenaries, some of which seem excited for action, other's look to be distant and cautious. I could just make out the hulking form of Commander Garrison approaching the main site, using hand signals to get his troops into form to carefully approach the edge of the abyss.

Then I see it.

It lifts its head slowly, seeming to consider the figures around it carefully. It's sleek, almost feline but bipedal creature with a long, tapered head. I'm frozen, unable to even scream as it snaps into position and the monster launches itself across the field.

It has a tail, serrated like a knife but as nimble as a whip, and it pierced through the nearest soldier's armor as if it were simply cotton. The beast doesn't even stop to ensure its prey was dead, or to consume its flesh before it runs forward to slaughter another man. More of the creatures spring up from the hole, which should be far too steep for any creature to leap from it so easily and gracefully.

My stomach turns as another soldier falls, this time to the inescapable and titanium hard claws of the monsters that haunt the nightmares of every space traveler.

The horrible thought that hunters of all creatures could have been hiding under the surface of this beautiful place hadn't even crossed my mind. Just more and more of them begin to appear. I'm shaking, but can't seem to make myself move. Not to call for help or scream at the others to tell them to run and bunker down, or look for a long-range cell to hale the Rosemary. In my near 15 years traversing the dark tapestry of space, I'd never been so terrified.

Another several creatures appear from the darkness, but no more than a dozen or have come up for this attack. The soldiers fall back, shooting wildly at the creatures, causing one or two to falter, but many more bullets ricochet off their impenetrable corpuses than hit the more delicate inner flesh.

Eventually even they can no longer hold the line and they scatter, some fruitlessly shooting behind them, only to be slain by the quick piercing trust of a deadly tail. Some threw their guns down and made way to the forest, where several of the long limbed beasts leaped after them. Others have taken prey and pinned them to the ground for a long time, though for what purpose they've been focused on I don't even want to consider.

My eye was drawn down to a familiar holler of a bellowing man. Commander Garrison is near enough to see me frozen there. He's running towards the base of the half-completed settlement container I've been sleeping in.

"Get inside!" He commands.

Under his order, I stumble backwards, slamming the door closed behind me and then clicking on the lock for good measure. Though I'm not sure how effective steel bolts are as a barrier against one of the--if not the--most dangerous creatures in the galaxy. Maybe even the universe. Downstairs I hear the other door open and shut, and a twin locking system click into place there as well.

"T-Tod?" I call out.

"Woman," I can't tell if Commander Garrison sighs or half laughs, a desperate kind of sound I don't associate with the strong military man I've grown to know well over all our trips together. "I've been trying to get you to call me by my first name for 7 years now."

"I'm sorry, I am. There are so many things I wish I would have said so much sooner--"

"Don't finish that sentence. Tell me about it when we get out of here. Did you lock the door upstairs?"

"Yes, I did."

"Good, do you have a com for the Rosemary in here?"

"No, there's one in the main camp building across the field, but nothing in here."

"Damn. Let's hope someone else made their way over there. Right now, we have to think about us. We'll get there if we can and warn the mothership."

"What are we going to do, I never even thought--"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to let those fuckers take you."

We'd all heard the stories. Battalions of men dead, the women missing. Those they found where changed, in ways no one but the medics even dared trying to describe. Whatever they were, they weren't human anymore.

I don't know what to say, a thousand things flitter though my head, but none of them seem to convey enough. All I'm left with is wet, watery eyes that don't even let me cry. He reaches out a large palmed hand and cusps my cheek. I can only manage to press into the touch for a moment, the comfort brief but kind, yet quickly freeze as I catch a glimpse of movement outside.

Behind him a see a dark shadow pass by the window. A head slowly turns to face the interior of the container and I feel like we meet gazes, though I cannot see the creature's eyes. Its long cylindrical head is stunning, shining in the growing morning night like an iridescent insect's shell, but its mouth is full of sharp teeth, bared dangerously at the glass. I see its breath fog the glass and I know it's seen us.

"Tod, it's at the window." I say slowly, carefully, hoping that if we don't move to much the creature will walk on.

It does not.

A strange clicking sound resounds threw the glass. I swallow hard.

He speaks low. "How many?"

"Just one."

"Okay, I want you to walk slowly up the stairs, alright? Is there a lockable door up there?"

"Yes, but I can't leave you down here alone!"

"Just one against my iron aim? The thing is as good as dead. Walk slow, but run when I shout. I'll be up there to get you in minute. Start walking now."

My legs are shaking, but I do as he says, slowly taking a step back up the stairs. But as I do, the creature just outside lets out a wild ripping noise, its tail lashing out to pierce the glass, deadly and efficient.

"Run!" He bellows and I turn to scuttle up the stairs.

There's another sound from the hunter, feline in some ways but ruthlessly unnatural in other ways that make my head spin. I hear the firing of the Commanders automatic rifle, the thundering clatter of explosive bullets, the kind that can't ever be used on ships, makes my ears ring. Stumbling forward I make it to the top of the stairs and fling the door open, about to slam it shut and hide--but then the bullet fire stops.

I can hardly hear anything over the pounding of my heart beat and the dull thrum left behind by the pounding shots. I call out, but hear nothing in return. Instead of slamming the door shut and locking it until Tod can come and get me, I open it further, looking down to see my fears realized. It's Commander Garrison, and he's lying limp--nearly dead if not already gone--at the foot of the stairs. The black phantom stands over him looking too lithe to be real. But it is, and now it's creeping up the stairs, headed right towards me.

Paralyzed by the sight, I freeze. Locked in place until it takes its first step up, slowly and methodically staring me down, I scream, and try to slam the door shut. But at the last moment, the beast pounces, slipping its head into the crack and it is far too powerful for me to push out. Falling backwards my butt collides with the floor and I scoot back.

"Please no, please, please, please." I beg.

If it can understand me, it does not care. The hunter pads closer, talons clicking against the floor, prowling closer and I brace myself for death.