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Five
Naomi
I sit back against my cot, eyeing the chalky-dry stains on the floor.
I can smell him. The monster was here, watching over me while I was sleeping.
He was doing unspeakable things.
Everyone surrounds me, demanding answers I can’t give to them. I shouldn’t have gone back to Discovery Base. Suddenly, I’ve become a suspect.
“What the hell was it, Naomi? Will you speak?” Halloway asks.
I try to catch my breath, but all I can see are its red eyes. The only sound I can hear is his voice, growling next to my ear. I can feel the power of his lunge.
With my trembling hand, I hold the picture of my parents. I don’t know why I have it out. I guess when I get scared, I take it out. For protection.
Maybe it’s stupid, but I need them now more than ever.
“It was a giant,” I whisper. “Its body had a shine to it.”
I stop myself, wondering if I’m remembering things correctly.
“He was naked,” I say, stuttering. “I think… I think they’re designed to...”
Again, I stop myself. What are they designed to do? The document I found said something about them desiring mates.
Do I really want to say that out loud? I glance at the men’s hardened faces and hold back this sliver of information.
“They’re predatory,” Fassbender says. “I heard it. It had the snarl of an abominable beast.”
Hugh adjusts his chair, panicking. “We have to get off this planet,” he says, shifting to face Halloway. “Captain, you’ve waited on the sidelines ever since we landed on that shore. When will you take charge?”
Halloway struggles, but he has an answer. “When Roy gets back, we’ll find the other starship. In the meantime, maybe we can fix the network and make a call to NASA.”
Hugh laughs. “So we still believe NASA has our backs?”
Fassbender stands nearby, threading tranquilizer darts into a small rifle.
Hugh rolls and snags one dart from his hand. “Tranq darts? I thought we want to kill the alien, not keep it alive.”
With a sour face, Fassbender yanks it back. “Careful, Robocop. We need every kind of fire power available,” he replies. “Besides, if we can study the alien, why not keep it alive?”
“We don’t know anything about it. For all we know, those won’t put him to sleep,” Hugh argues.
Footsteps sound from behind. I turn and see Roy. He’s soaking wet, franticly running toward us.
Halloway smiles. “Aha! The man of the hour. Did you fix the thrusters?”
Roy catches his breath. “Thrusters are a go,” he says. “And I managed to fix the network on our starship. The computers are back online. Of course, without the planet relay running, it doesn’t make much of a difference.”
Fassbender pushes past me. “You don’t have the command passwords,” he interrupts.
Roy faces him, right heel planted for a fight. Something is wrong.
“I’ve been on Starship Tera-Earth for over a year. You don’t think I haven’t memorized your password by now?” Roy asks. “I’ve got a strong memory, pal.”
Fassbender grabs him. “Bastard,” he grunts.
