The Venetou

by Philip R Benge

  Mary spent the next thirty minutes photographing the ten stone statues from every possible angle, she never noticed how the sky above the square darkened as a thunderstorm moved quickly across the western horizon. Not until it exploded above the outskirts of the city did she realise just how dark it had become and how foul the approaching storm was. Then the hailstones began to fall from the sky, and they were the size of golf balls. Aaila rushed for shelter within the nearest doorway, only to find that it had no roof as a large hailstone sped by her face. She hurried next door to find shelter within a small dark room, unfortunately she found that it only had one very small window set high up within the rear wall, and so it permitted very little light to enter this way. The narrow doorway through which she had run was the only other way for light to penetrate inside of the badly lit room, and it was getting darker inside as the storm now increased in intensity.

  On the other side of the square Jubal took shelter within the doorway of a large imposing building, and once out of the storm he looked for the other two. He saw Mary Taylor dash inside of a small building which had retained part of its roof and so it sheltered her from the storm, but he could not see Aaila hidden within the darkened building that she had chosen, for the doorway was hidden by two of the huge statues. He made to move out of the doorway in an attempt to catch a sight of her when a hand covered his mouth, and then a second hand gripped him around the waist pulling him back inside of the building. Jubal fought to free himself from his unknown assailants grip but almost immediately he felt two sharp fangs enter his neck.

  **********

  “Well where are they Captain, they have not answered any of their calls and it is getting dark now, we should go out after them, something may have happened to them.” Maria Alejandra declared.

  “Normally I would agree with you Maria, but two of our team have been murdered so far, and now three more of the team are missing, to go out when it is getting dark would be admirable, however it would also be very foolish. No, Maria, we will go out to the city first thing in the morning.”

  Kramer felt ashamed to have said such a thing, but he knew that he was right. The others, apart from Maria that is, all looked to be very relieved at his decision, for they too did not fancy a trip out to the city, not when darkness was settling over its deserted buildings. This was especially so while the storm was still raging, making them even more uneasy than they were already following the two deaths aboard the survey vessel. The storm interrupted Kramer`s guilty thoughts as it exploded in a series of loud crashes of thunder and blazing streaks of lightning. Maria though did not agree with Kramer, she saw it as a cowardly decision, and she stormed out of the room throwing dark looks at each of them that told them of her utter contempt for them at their treatment of their comrades, comrades who could be in the gravest danger.

  At the sound of a door slamming behind Maria, Kramer turned to Palin in an attempt to take their minds off the accusations of cowardice that seemed to linger in the air.

  “Professor Palin, you`re better with the computer than I am, will you check the ship for any of those localised power failures that Aaila discovered, I really would like to know that we are safe tonight, and that there are no uninvited guests hanging around.” Kramer asked.

  “Yes, Captain, I too would prefer a quiet night in.” Palin replied in jest as he sought to lighten the mood, he turned and walked along to the bridge. “At least we now know that the murders were not committed by any of us, as each of us was always accompanied by two other people.”

  “And Professor, no other team was near enough to the deserted city for anyone to slip away unnoticed, that is if we do find that Mary Taylor and her two escorts have also been attacked. We will then know for certain that it was by the inhabitants of this planet and not by anyone here.” Kramer said as he followed after the scientist. He knew that this knowledge would hardly signify a victory, for it would mean that more of their team would be dead, something that seemed all too likely now.

  **********

  The sun was just rising above the lake as those aboard the Galileo were readying themselves for the trip to the deserted city, no one spoke, and all of them were praying that they would find their three missing comrades safe and sound. There was also a growing desire amongst some of the team to then depart this hell hole of a planet and never return to it.

  “Professor Palin, you realise that the chances of finding any of the three alive are pretty slim?” Kramer said grimly as they left the survey ship and got into the large tracked vehicle parked outside.

  “Yes Captain, I have also come to that conclusion, as I think have the rest of our team.” When Kramer looked about them he saw the grim expressions upon all of the faces of his team, yes they too knew the truth. The journey to the deserted city was very quiet with no one even attempting to start up a conversation. Fortunately they made good time and soon arrived at its entrance, the first thing that they saw was the empty hovercraft, and Kramer brought their vehicle up alongside it.

  “Well Captain, we now know that our missing people are still somewhere inside the walls of this city.” Palin said. However, seeing the vehicle reinforced his thoughts, that their people were dead, for otherwise they would have been driving the hovercraft back to the survey vessel.

  “How do you plan to conduct the search Captain?” Palin asked, a question the others wondered about, for they now knew it could be a dangerous task unless properly organised.

  “We will stay together initially, take a brisk walk through the streets calling out to them, if we do not find them then we will have to consider our options.” Kramer replied grimly.

  “Options, Captain?” Maria Alejandra enquired quietly.

  Kramer looked across at her before replying, but from the fear on her face he saw that she too was afraid to split up into smaller groups, seeing as how a group of three people, all armed with Phasers, had disappeared.

  “I am not sure Maria, one option would be that we just stay together while we slowly and methodically search the city, but let`s just leave it there for now, see what our initial search turns up.” Kramer did not want to offer any other options just yet, as earlier when he had thought about this very subject he had thought that they all seemed to be rather dangerous. The others did not press him, for they were afraid lest they pushed him into an option that none of them wanted to consider, not right then, maybe never.

  Kramer led the way through the open gates of the city just as the sun lit up the main street, to nine very worried, maybe even scared people, it seemed a good omen, and one they desperately needed to raise their battered hopes and steady their jangling nerves. Kramer decided to follow the wide sun lit street, rather than lose himself amongst the narrow side streets. They called out the names of their missing friends as they walked down the quiet sunlit streets, it seemed a peaceful morning stroll, they soon came to the church and later, beyond the church, to the square of the statues, it was now that the atmosphere changed.

  Scattered around the square they found the equipment of their missing team, strewn around by whoever had attacked them, for the missing people would never have treated their equipment in such a way.

  “Chief Engineer Mayers and Engineer Milano will you stand guard before this building, as the most expensive of the equipment is outside of it. Professor Taylor would only have left it laying on the ground if she were in great danger, anyway it seems to be a good place as any to start our search.” In fact the Venetou had left it there, after inspecting it to see just what it was.

  “Doctor Garner and Professor Alejandra, will you stand guard at the entrance to the square. The rest of us will search the building for any sign of our missing people, keep alert, we can not afford to lose anyone else.” Kramer announced grimly. With that he walked towards the building before him that had only a narrow doorway and a very small window set high up in the rear wall.

  Kramer entered first, the powerful flashlight that he carried in his hand lighting up the room, Jo
hn Palin followed him and then Kristiana Georgiou, Ricardo Anceris and finally an apprehensive Haru Sato. As the beam of the flashlight moved around the dark and dusty room it found the body of Aaila. Kristiana screamed as the flashlight picked out the mutilated right eye of Aaila. Ricardo turned around and was sick in the corner of the room which in turn made Sato bring up his breakfast. Whether it was the terrible sight of the mutilated eye, or just plain fear that had caused their two friends to throw up, the others did not know, however, they too felt very queasy.

  The others standing outside of the building felt a sense of dread as they waited to hear something from the searchers, but Kristiana`s scream had already pre-warned them as to what they would be told. Fifteen minutes later and they had discovered all three of their team, all of them killed in exactly the same way. The bodies were returned to the Galileo for an autopsy, but no one doubted what it would find. Three people armed with Phasers had died without seeming to have even fired a shot.

  **********

  Mary Taylor though had fired a shot, it had been ten minutes after the storm had driven them all in search of shelter, and she had heard nothing from her two friends since then. She was crouched against the rear wall of the building in which she hid, she called out to Aaila and Jubal her voice not much more than a whisper as fear bit deep inside her, but neither of them answered her timid calls. She called again, her voice now even less than a whisper as fear engulfed her, she now pulled out her Phaser and standing up she walked slowly towards the empty doorway, the Phaser shaking in her hand. A flash of lightning lit up the square, it also lit up the two Venetou for a moment, for one moment Mary thought that Aaila and David Jubal were walking towards her. Then a larger bolt of lightning lit up their faces and Mary screamed on seeing the evil grins of the two Venetou who were now relishing this final meal of the day. Mary fired her Phaser, the bolt of energy whistling between the two Venetou to blast against one of the statues within the square. Then the two Venetou disappeared from her sight as darkness returned to the square, she stood there petrified, unable to run, unable to fire her weapon again. It was only a matter of seconds later when she felt two hands grab hold of her and she was pulled forward into an embrace with the larger of the two Venetou, her weapon pointing uselessly towards the dark sky. The Venetou looked into her eyes as he opened his mouth, Mary thought for a moment that the creature was going to kiss her neck, but then she felt the fangs enter her neck and she stood rigid for just a moment. She knew she was about to die, but then all she could do was to fall forward to crash down upon the wet ground of the square. The two Venetou quickly dragged her body within the building and once there they proceeded to feed upon Mary Taylor, a woman who only yesterday had been so excited at seeing the deserted city.

  *********

  Safely back inside the Galileo, nine people were discussing their options, should they stay and attempt to complete the survey of the planet, or should they flee.

  “Professor Palin, as I see it we do not have sufficient crew to search for our attackers, and only by staying close together can we stop our enemy from killing any more of us. It will mean our making just a preliminary survey, but I think that for us, it will be the only way to survey this particular planet. A better armed party can return at a later date to do a full survey, that and exterminate who ever are killing our crew.” Kramer said looking at Palin.

  It was up to Palin to decide as he was the senior scientist, the others of his team were gathered around them to discuss the matter in the small mess room, one which now seemed so much larger. However, it was Professor Alejandra who voiced her opinion first.

  “Are you insane Captain? My god we should leave here now, before it is too late.” Maria Alejandra pleaded. “Please Captain, before any more of us are murdered. My god I jump at every sound, even the breeze is enough to scare me, please Captain, will you take us away from this planet, now, please.” Maria begged desperately.

  “No, Maria, I believe that the Captain is correct, a preliminary survey is well within our capabilities, anyway, to be run off this planet by an aboriginal tribesman is ludicrous.” Palin argued, for he was in favour of staying to complete their task and would see any other option as a disgrace.

  “Who is to say it is one of the builders, Mary did not get the chance to look into the reason behind their disappearance, maybe the reason is still out there, waiting to kill even more of us, no I am in agreement with Maria, let’s get off this planet.” Haru Sato said. Fear filled his voice and caused him to spill his coffee, it splattered down onto his shoes. He did not notice though, for his attention was fixed on Kramer. “And in any case how could an aboriginal tribesman be capable of doing such things to our people, it is ludicrous to even suggest such a thing? The technology behind the weapon that made the ten minute holes behind the eyes tells us that, it is beyond any civilisation that is not at least on a par with our own.” Sato declared angrily.

  “No, Haru, Maria, first we will at least attempt to complete a part survey of this corner of the planet.” Kramer replied and immediately winced when Maria Alejandra, closely followed by Kristiana Georgiou, ran angrily from the mess to her cabin in tears, Kristiana slamming the door of Maria`s cabin behind her as she attempted to console her friend.

  The official discussion was brought to end when Kramer walked up to the bridge to bring the ship`s log up to date, but the unofficial discussion continued into the small hours of the morning.

  **********

  The next day saw the three remaining survey teams leave the Galileo together, they would make their survey as a single body, even Palin accepted that they could survey the planet in no other way unless they found and destroyed their mysterious attacker. It saw them working along one of the streams that fed the lake, in this way the three teams could work together.

  John Palin and Ricardo Anceris were working close to the stream looking for new specimens to catch. Kristiana Georgiou was working alongside them as she studied the aquatic plant life. Maria Alejandra was wading behind them as she looked for anything of geological interest, she was in fact bored to tears, if they must stay on this terrible planet then she wanted to return to her ravine and search once again for more of that interesting crystal that she found on her first trip there. Palin had promised that tomorrow they would all visit the ravine where she could continue her search for the crystal that promised so much potential. Her fear of yesterday had dissipated, working as a large group made her feel safe, now all she wanted was to look for interesting geological items.

  Haru Satu was also bored, he had decided to stare at a large rock that he thought may be proof that this planet had at one time at least gone through an ice age. For the rock should not be sitting there, it seemed most likely that it had been moved by a glacier as it retreated back to the north pole of this planet.

  Charles Milano and Chief engineer Karl Mayers were both on the opposite bank of the small stream ensuring that nothing came at them from that direction, happy to be enjoying a moment of peace and tranquillity. Doctor Garner was not feeling tranquil, he was with the scientists and studying a bush, it was some thirty feet ahead of them and it was swaying quite violently, however, there was not even a trace of a breeze. Captain Kramer also noticed it now, and he moved past Doctor Garner who then followed him, but to one side so that he could see the bush and the surrounding area. He thought he saw a ‘shimmering’ of the green vegetation moving away from the bush, then bushes near the ‘shimmering’ of colour swayed and then one swayed that was even further away.

  Kramer reached the first bush that had caught their eye and here he found a footprint in the soft earth around the bush, it was made by a bare foot. He smiled, a lead at last he thought to himself, and then proceeded cautiously on towards the next bush that had swayed, with Doctor Garner following closely behind him. However no one could ascertain just why, as there was no sign of any creature near to the bushes, just the one foot print. The scientists’ en-masse, Captain Kramer and Doctor Garner, plus
the two engineers who were following on the other bank of the stream, were drawn towards the bushes as one, all eager to investigate the cause of this mysterious movement.

  They never saw the attack on Haru Satu, he was grabbed from behind, a hand covering his mouth to stop him from crying out, and a strong hand on his shoulder and turning him neck towards the male Venetou. With the soft neck of Satu now in the correct position, Sarai now drove his two fangs deep into it, Satu stiffened at the pain as the powerful toxin spread through his body. Satu was pulled quietly down amongst the green vegetation of the forest floor where moments later his precious life-force was torn from him.

  It was only a little later, after they had all returned to the place they had left before they had been decoyed away, that Kristiana Georgiou looked about for him. “Where is Haru, he is not with us?” She asked so quietly, as if scared that someone might hear her question and tell her what she was now fearing to even think about.

  Everyone looked up from their work along the river bank and stared at her, fear coming quickly to their faces when Haru did not answer their calls to him.

  “He was working behind me Captain by that large rock.” Palin announced fearfully. He only had to take a few steps, once by the rock he saw the body of their comrade laying on his back on the damp ground, and he had been killed in exactly the same way as the others had been.