THE PLANET THAT LOVED PEOPLE (standard:science fiction, 3372 words) [11/15] show all parts
Author: Danny Raven	Added: Mar 09 2016	Views/Reads: 1804/1419	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
PART 2 - CH 11

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

dignity of the Exit Bay rather than the disposal hatch. 

He was wearing an all-in-one white space suit which was thin but
pierce-proof, complete with boots and radio-helmet. A small oxygen tank 
was strapped to his back. He also had on thin but pierce-proof gloves 
which would allow him to work. 

When the outer door of the Exit Bay slid open he stood on the threshold
a long time, gazing round in fear and awe at the field where they'd 
landed. 

The lush grass was a deep green and here and there, flowers he'd never
seen before grew in bursts of unbelievably beautiful colours. The trees 
were a rich brown and their emerald, velvety leaves moved gently in the 
breeze. The sky was a silky blue expanse with clouds of soft, white, 
cotton wool dotted here and there. Even the very air seemed to sparkle. 


Surely all the stories he'd heard about the planet couldn't be true? He
was on the point of opening his helmet and taking a few deep breaths 
when the voice in his ear snapped him back to reality. 

“What the fuck are you doing, Miller!?” Kane said via the helmet radio. 

“Uh? I uh just--” 

“Get moving for christsake!” 

Miller clutched his toolbox and the spare Converter part tightly against
his chest and swallowed nervously. Sweat started to trickle down inside 
his suit. He forced himself to step outside the cabin onto the lush 
grass then yelped and jumped back in. 

“What is it!?” Kane snapped. 

“Nothing,” Miller replied sheepishly. “I forgot to look before I stepped
out.” 

He could hear Kane's muted curse over the radio. He inspected the grass
carefully this time then stepped out. Checking each section before he 
put his foot down, he made his way slowly along the Ship, pausing every 
now and then to look round. 

A hundred yards away at the edge of the field, hidden in some thick tree
branches, a long black snake raised its head and watched him, attracted 
by all the movement. Its forked tongue probed the air for information. 
Interested, it rippled back along the branch and down the tree. 

Unaware of the attention he was generating, Miller was still moving
gingerly on. He was finding the place too good to be true and as a 
result was growing jumpier by the second. 

‘I don't like it,' he thought to himself. ‘All the stories I've heard
about the place. I haven't seen so much as a--” 

His scream echoed round the Bridge where his radio was being relayed,
bringing all of them out of their seats. 

“Miller!” Kane yelled over the radio. “What happened? You alright?” 

The only response was Miller's harsh breathing. It sounded unnaturally
loud on the quiet Bridge. 

“Can you hear me?” Kane asked. “Are you in trouble?” 

They heard his breathing ease a bit. “Jesus!” he said, a tremor in his
voice. “The fucking thing flew straight at me!” 

“What was it?” 

“A bird. It must've been sitting here awhile. I scared it when I turned
into the Drive recess.” 

“Okay relax. It probably won't happen again,” Kane said, the tension
easing on the Bridge. “Keep moving.” 

Miller had dropped his toolbox and the spare part and he bent, checked
the area then picked them up with shaky hands and moved further into 
the Drive recess. When he worked out which panel he had to remove he 
laid his box down, opened it and selected a tool. He went to work, 
stopping frequently to look round. 

When he had the panel removed he blinked the sweat from his eyes and
peered in. He could see the damaged area on the Converter. 

“Shit!” he cursed. 

“What's the problem?” 

“It's pretty far in. I don't know if I can reach it.” 

“You have to!” Kane said brusquely. 

Curing the Fleet, Kane, Ships, Converters and everything else he could
think of, Miller swapped tools and tried out the new one. He could just 
about reach it with this one and he struggled on, the sweat coursing 
down inside his suit. 

At the edge of the field, the black snake raised its head above the lush
grass and watched him with cold, green eyes. Its forked tongue read the 
air then the long, muscular body slithered into the grass towards him. 

It took Miller a minute of silent concentration to remove the damaged
Converter part. He had the replacement in position and was reaching in 
to adjust it when Kane spoke to him. The voice startled him after such 
a long silence and he dropped the tool he was using. He could hear it 
rolling away into the Drive compartment somewhere. 

“What's taking so long?” Kane snapped. 

“I told you!” Miller yelled. “It's difficult to reach!” 

“How much longer?” 

“About ten minutes,” Miller replied, deciding it wouldn't be wise to
mention the tool. 

“Make it five!” Kane barked. 

‘Fuck off!' Miller mouthed. 

He peered into the murky compartment and saw the tool. He reached down
and tried to get hold of it. His fingers brushed it but he couldn't get 
them round it. He strained until his arm ached, almost ripping his suit 
in his frantic desperation but the tool remained obstinately just out 
of reach. 

Panic rose in his gut and sweat dripped off his face. Christ, he must've
wasted about a minute trying to retrieve the tool. He knelt down and 
rummaged in his box, looking for another. Shit, none of them would do. 

Complete panic seized him. What the fuck was he going to do? Kane would
explode if he told him. His stomach started to churn and he almost 
wept. 

Then he remembered! The torch! Muslik had shoved it into the leg pocket
of his space-suit before he came out. It could be lengthened to reach 
the tool. 

He pulled one of his gloves off and threw it down then quickly opened
the zip pocket and drew out the slim torch. He grinned at it and held 
it up to his helmet and kissed it. 

Relief flowed through him and he felt the panic recede. Sighing deeply
he turned back to the Drive compartment, lengthened the torch and 
easily retrieved the tool. He went back to work on the Converter. 

‘A few minutes,' he thought. ‘Just a few more minutes.' 

Behind him, rippling silently through the lush grass, the black snake
was about fifty yards away. 

Miller worked feverishly on the final adjustments to the Converter and
was soon finished. He replaced the outer panel on the Falcon then 
quickly threw his tools into the box and banged it shut. He shortened 
the torch and slipped it back into his zip pocket. 

He reached down to pick up his glove then jumped back from it so fast he
bounced off the Ship. 

‘Jeeze! Suppose something crawled in there while I was working?' he
thought. 

“You about finished!?” Kane yelled in his ear. 

Miller jumped. “Yeah, finished,” he replied, staring at the glove. “Just
coming.” 

“Well get back in.” 

Miller bit his lip. He had to get the glove. Kane wouldn't let him in
without it. He circled it a few times as if it was some live creature 
that might attack him then jumped on it again and again and again. 

He picked it up carefully between his finger and thumb and shook it.
Nothing popped out. Cautiously he peered into it. Nothing. Slowly he 
inched his hand into it, expecting to feel a wet slimy mess. Nothing. 
He breathed a long sigh of relief and clapped his gloved hands 
together. 

‘Back to the Ship!' he thought, grinning to himself. 

He turned to pick up his toolbox and saw the black snake. It was about
twenty yards away and had raised its head a foot above the grass and 
was probing the air with its forked tongue, watching him. 

Miller froze. He felt as if somebody had injected ice cold water into
his veins. For long seconds, snake and Miller stared at each other. 
Then it launched itself at him. 

“Jesus!” he yelled. “There's a fucking snake after me! Open the fucking
door!!” 

He grabbed the toolbox and raced along the Ship. The Exit Bay seemed an
endless distance away. He could feel his heart thudding in his chest 
and his breathing sounded loud and hoarse inside his helmet. 

He glanced over his shoulder and screamed. The snake had increased its
speed, closing the distance between them. He tried to run faster but 
his legs seemed leaden and refused to co-operate. He felt as if he was 
wading through thick oil. Ahead of him, the Exit Bay was still closed. 

He threw the toolbox over his shoulder at the snake and it bounced into
the grass scattering tools and instruments. It didn't deter the snake. 
It just changed direction slightly to avoid the obstacles and came on 
relentlessly. 

Miller reached the Exit Bay door and it was still closed. He banged on
it and screamed into the radio. “Open the fucking door, Frank!!” 

Behind him, the snake was about five yards away. He watched it getting
closer and closer and all the time he was still banging on the door 
then found himself punching the air as it slid open. 

He jumped in. “Shut it!! Shut it!!” he screamed. 

The door stayed open and the snake launched itself through the air
straight at his thighs. Everything seemed to slow down and Miller 
watched in horror as the snake opened its mouth and the long fangs 
sprang erect. He leaned back against the wall and screwed his eyes 
shut. As he waited for the fangs to pierce his suit and sink into his 
skin, the door slid shut. 

He heard a thump as the snake smacked into it on the outside. Shaking
with relief, he slid to the floor and wept. 

Outside, the snake lay in the grass for a few moments, slightly dazed by
the impact. When it had recovered, the long muscular body rippled 
fluidly into the grass and it headed back to the forest. 

Miller ripped off his gloves and threw them into a corner. He detached
the helmet from his suit and dropped it then ran a hand over his sweat 
matted face, beard and hair. He leaned back against the wall and shut 
his eyes. 

Kane watched him through a thick glass window on the inner door. “You
okay, Miller?” he asked over the intercom. 

“Yeah.” 

“Stand up so I can see you.” 

On still shaky legs, Miller complied. 

“Where are the gloves?” 

He jerked his thumb at the corner where they lay with the helmet. 

Satisfied, Kane nodded and said, “Okay. Stand by.” 

Miller sagged back against the wall exhausted then something suddenly
dawned on him. He'd done it! He'd beaten Chameleon! A smile crept 
slowly on to his sweat stained face. 

He'd done it! He'd fucking well done it! Beaten Chameleon! He sniggered
insanely and more tears of relief ran down his face. 

‘That deserves something special!' he thought and grinned at what the
something special was. The second Dreamtab he'd managed to hide from 
Kane was still in his pocket. 

He reached down and tried to feel it through his suit but the material
was too thick. Shit. He wanted to touch it badly, just to know it was 
there. 

He unzipped the pocket where he'd shoved the torch and felt around. The
material was thinner here and he should be able to feel the outline of 
the Dreamtab. 

He groped around a bit and managed to jab the side of his finger against
the rough edge of the torch then he found it. A dreamy smile crossed 
his face as he felt the outline of the small blue tablet. 

Some sweat trickled into his eyes and he reached up to wipe it then
stared in disbelief at his hand. It hadn't been the side of the torch 
which had jabbed him. 

He'd been bitten. 

The lizard was small, about three inches long, jet black with a green
stripe along its back. It was still clamped to the side of his finger. 
He stared at it in disbelief as the inner door of the Exit Bay started 
to slide open. 

Kane took in the scene at a glance. His hand was still over the
open/close button on the wall for the inner door. He pressed it again 
and the door slid shut. He hit the button next to it and the outer door 
of the Exit Bay slid open. Miller was still too stunned to make any 
kind of move. 

Kane took another look at him through the window then turned and made
his way back up to the Bridge. 

“Prepare to lift off!” he snapped out when he arrived. 

Muslik looked puzzled. “Where's Miller?” he asked. 

They were all waiting to congratulate him. 

“He won't be coming,” Kane replied. 

“What happened to him?” asked Corthan. 

“He's been bitten,” said Kane, taking a laser rifle from the rack. 

“What are you going to do with that?” Muslik asked. 

“Put him out of his misery,” Kane replied and left the Bridge. 

Back down in the Exit Bay, Miller had been staring stupidly at the
lizard for a long time, refusing to take in what happened to him. Then 
he screamed and ran outside, shaking his hand violently but the lizard 
hung on stubbornly. 

He looked round and saw a pile of rocks and ran over to them. He tried
to smash the lizard against them but only succeeded in jarring his 
hand. Sinking down on his knees he laid his finger along a flat rock 
then picked up a smaller one and brought it down on the lizard's body. 
It disintegrated in a mash of blood and pulp. 

He pulled the lizard's head off and examined his finger closely and saw
the curved mark where the lizard's bite had broken the skin. A few 
drops of blood oozed out. His head lolled back and he screamed loudly 
at the sky. 

He turned, chest heaving, when he heard the Drive whining to life. The
outer door of the Exit Bay was still open and he scrambled to his feet 
and headed back towards it. 

Which is when he saw the laser rifle pointing at him. Before he had time
to yell, Kane fired, striking him directly over the heart. He collapsed 
in a heap on the lush grass. The outer door of the Exit Bay slid shut 
and shortly afterwards the Falcon lifted. 

Back on the Bridge, Kane snapped out course instructions to the Android.
When they had cleared Chameleon's atmosphere he left and went to his 
cabin without saying another word to anyone. 

***** 

Muslik gave him half an hour then joined him. He found him lying on his
bunk, staring at the wall. A half empty bottle of vodka lay beside him. 


Muslik sat down and poured himself a small measure. “You didn't kill
him, did you?” he asked. 

Kane drained his glass then threw it at the wall. “I couldn't,” he
growled. 

“Why not?” Muslik asked, curious. 

“We were together a long time in the Fleet,” Kane told him. “He might
wind up looking like a fucking lizard but when I saw him he was still 
Miller.” 

But he wouldn't be for long. 

When he came to, the Falcon was gone and he was alone in the field. He
looked round fearfully. The lush grass was a deep green and flowers 
he'd never seen before grew in bursts of unbelievably beautiful 
colours. The trees were a rich brown and their velvety emerald leaves 
moved gently in the breeze. The sky was a silky blue expanse with 
clouds of soft, white, cotton wool dotted here and there. Even the very 
air seemed to sparkle. Miller hugged his knees to his chest and rocked 
himself back and forth on the grass, weeping. 

Already the changes were staring to take place in him. Beneath his
clothes, his skin was taking on the texture and colour of the lizard 
but for the moment he was mercifully unaware. 

He sat in the field awhile then in a daze started wandering aimlessly
around, the late afternoon sun still warm on his back. He was heedless 
of any danger, not that it mattered now. After half an hour of 
haphazard stumbling he lurched through some trees bordering a small 
pond which was fed by a sparkling stream. 

He lay down and plunged his head into the water then drank some. Fat
lazy dragon flies skimmed lazily across the pond's surface and he 
watched them awhile, water dripping from his face and beard. 

Before he could stop himself he reached out and grabbed one of them and
stuffed it in his mouth. He crunched it up greedily then grabbed 
another two. He tasted their juices and felt their pulpy bodies in his 
mouth then swallowed them. 

He rolled over on to his back and gazed up at the sky then his stomach
heaved and he rolled back and vomited into the pond. 

It wasn't so much what he'd just eaten that caused him to vomit. It was
the discovery that he liked the taste of them. 

He washed his face in some clean water then hauled himself up and leaned
back against a tree. Burying his head in his hands, he wept. 


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