by Tom Johnson
"That one must be a baby, then," Major Cooper laughed, "it's only about two foot long."
"It probably has some growing to do yet," Sheri giggled.Huge frog-like creatures were jumping in and out of the little ponds formed by the recent storm, and insects were buzzing about the scattered limbs and debris. There were numerous sponges and sea creatures that had been picked up and blown inland by the powerful winds.
"Wow!" Tony Mercer grinned. "I could go for a mess of frog legs about now!"
"Yuck!" Sheri grimaced. "Not me!"
"I'll pass, also," Colonel Peterson told them.
"Tony has a splendid idea," Major Cooper said. "Maybe not about the frog legs. But we could eat out tonight. After being cooped up with you guys for nearly a week, I think a meal under the stars is just what the doctor ordered!"
"Not this doctor," Barbara Terrill said, shaking her head in the negative.
"Yes!" Captain Mercer added his vote to the suggestion. "We can set some boxes out on the ground for chairs, and burn some dry limbs in a small fire, and sing songs or something."
"Oh yes," Sheri agreed. "A picnic! This sounds like fun."
"I'll go for the singing bit," Colonel Peterson said.
"I'll bring some Hymns," Roger Manning told them.
"Here we go again!" Major Cooper growled under his breath. “There’s always someone in the bunch who’ll ruin a party.”
The day was spent outside, cleaning up the clutter from around the ship. To Major Cooper's horror, he found that Professor Plymouth's grave had sunk in from the rain, and he grabbed a shovel and refilled it with surrounding dirt before anyone else discovered the disturbed site. Then he covered it with some of the scattered brush to hide his hasty handy work.
The rain had soaked everything, but they were able to find some dry limbs under the edge of the ship that was stout enough to burn as firewood, and set them aside for the evening cookout.
Roger Manning had inspected the bio-dome and found that it had escaped any major damage from the hurricane, except for a lot of limbs landing on the top. Climbing a ladder on the inside wall, he entered through a trapdoor in the ceiling, and swept the top clean of unwanted brush. He wanted plenty of sunlight to penetrate through the upper level.
Sheri Thompson had discovered some large rolls of thin canvas in the storage hull of the Galileo Two and pointed it out to Major Cooper. The two searched diligently until they had two long poles with umbrella like fittings on top. These they carried outside and stuck upright in the ground. When the poles were solidly embedded, they cut two pieces of canvas and tied them to the umbrella arms of the poles, providing some shade from the fierce heat of the sun's rays.
"It'll still be hot out here," Sheri said.
"Yeah, we can't do anything about that," he laughed, "but at least we won't be in the direct sunlight. The shade will be of some help."
Evelyn Peterson and Barbara Terrill gathered the dry wood and carried it a short ways from the camp, but did not set fire to the brush yet. They had a large pile of wood in the stack before they ceased their work.
"This is ridiculous," Doctor Terrill growled.
"Why, Barbara, haven't you ever been camping?" Colonel Peterson asked, curiously.
Noticing what appeared to be a tear in the doctor's eyes, Evelyn didn't follow through with her question. It seemed that she had touched a subject better off left alone.
"When does everyone want to eat?" a voice called from the ship. Captain Mercer stuck his head out the door, holding an arm full of MREs.
"Wait till dark!" Sheri yelled back at him.
Coming out of the bio-dome, Roger Manning said, "I wish the tomatoes were ready."
"Your garden will take time," Colonel Peterson said.
"Army chow will have to fill in for the picnic baskets," Major Cooper grinned. "Until someone shoots a deer, or butchers a cow or hog. By the way, did we bring any instruction disks for that?"
"Afraid not," Sheri told him. "We were going to Mars. Remember?"
"Well, I was only planning on eating MREs for a couple of years," he said. "Not for a lifetime! The next time we go into the woods, I'm thinking we should start looking at current life forms as a possible food supply for the future!"
"We can also look for berries and anything resembling potatoes or edible goobers," Sheri continued. "Observe the herbivores, see what they are eating, and we should be able to eat the same things."
"Does that apply to the carnivores, too?" Colonel Peterson asked.
"No,” Sheri shook her head, "the carnivores most likely eat anything that moves. We will have to be more careful about any meat we eat."
"We can always catch fish," Roger Manning told them.
"There's some fish that are poisonous to eat, also," Sheri said, "if not prepared correctly. But you're right, we stand a better chance eating the fish, and the sea should be teaming with a good variety of big fat ones!"
"Then our next trip into the forest will purely be to observe the eating habits of the herbivores." Colonel Peterson said. "If that doesn't work out, the boys can go fishing!"
"Here! Here!" Major Cooper yelled.
"It looks like the sun will be going down soon," Captain Mercer yelled, coming out of the ship. "But I think someone else will have to rub the two sticks together to start the fire. I'm afraid I can't do it one-handed."
"Buck Rogers can start it with his ray gun, can't you, Major?" Colonel Peterson smiled at her second in command.
"Me thinks the commander is in a jolly mood tonight," Major Cooper grinned. "Someone better check the liquor cabinet!"
Using the flame from a small lighter, he soon had the bonfire going. The wood was still green enough that it would burn for a long time, but it caused more smoke than they had anticipated. Thankfully, the wind carried it away from the ship and towards the forest to the north of them.
"You'd better prepare the MREs now, Tony," Colonel Peterson instructed the captain. "I think we're all just about ready for our first backyard cookout on Pangaea."
"I've also got a little surprise for everyone," Doctor Terrill said. "If you will excuse me for a few minutes?"
Fifteen minutes later, Tony Mercer and the doctor came out of the ship again and they were carrying a fairly large container between them, each holding a handle with one hand, while Barbara held the packages of MREs in her free hand.
"The food is hot," Tony Mercer yelled.
"What have you got there, Barbara?" Major Cooper asked the doctor.
"A little something my husband and I learned how to make in medical school thirty years ago," she told him.
"Why, Doctor, is that what I think it is?" Sheri laughed.
"We didn't have the money for extras in the early days," Barbara Terrill said, "so we improvised. We learned a lot in our medical studies, including how to produce something resembling alcoholic beverages."
"I didn't know you had been married, Doctor," Roger Manning said.
"We met in medical school and fell madly in love," she said. "It was a struggle for both of us, but we managed to complete our courses, and find residences at the same hospital. We waited until we were finished with our degrees before we got married, and even then we had a hard time making ends meet.
"Everyone pass me your glasses, and let's see if I remembered how to make this stuff right," she continued.
When Roger Manning passed his glass to her, Barbara Terrill gave him a curious look, and asked: "Why is a fine Christian boy like you imbibing in fermented juices?"
"Jesus drank a little wine," he told her. "Besides, I'm getting tired of the ship's water."
"Hey, that's right," Captain Mercer grinned, "didn't Jesus also turn the water into wine or something? Kind of like what Doctor Terrill did?"
"That's considered his first miracle," Manning agreed, "turning water into wine at a wedding ceremony."
"Well, for Pete's sake!" Sheri laughed. "Imagine that. You want to get married, Major?"
"Not until I get off these
MREs!" he grinned.
"Anyone want to sing?" Colonel Peterson asked.
"Let's eat!" Major Cooper growled.
Frowning, Colonel Peterson said, "I don't think you would have been much fun as Buck Rogers, anyway."
As they were eating the MREs, the area suddenly lit up as a huge fireball shot across the sky. They looked up just in time to see hundreds of smaller meteorites following the larger one across the heavens in a heavenly light show.
"I think those things just bounced through the atmosphere and straight out again," Tony Mercer said in awe.
"We're lucky the big one didn't come in on a direct hit," Colonel Peterson said. "It looked as large as a city block!"
"I wish one of us knew more about astronomy," Major Cooper suggested. "I think Professor Plymouth could probably tell us exactly where Earth is located in the universe right now. I have a feeling we are probably in an asteroid belt of enormous proportions, or getting closer to one all the time."
"It's for sure there are more rocks out there right now, than during our own time," Sheri agreed.
"But that was such a beautiful sight," Roger Manning gasped. "I've never seen such large meteorites as those shoot through our atmosphere."
With the passing of the light show in the sky, the Galileo Two survivors completed their little outdoor meal beneath the stars of a young Earth. The recent display had caught their attention, though, and their eyes remained fixed to the heavens, hoping to see another violent burst of fire from another meteor shooting past the planet. But the light show appeared to be over for the night.
As soon as things settled down, Roger Manning again brought up the suggestion of singing, but this time, Colonel Peterson suggested something besides Hymns.
"How about a good two-step tune?" Major Cooper asked. "You songbirds know any romantic slow dance tunes?"
"I think I remember one," Colonel Peterson grinned.
Naming a popular song from several years back, Roger Manning and Sheri both said that they remembered some of the tune.
"You start it out, Evelyn," Sheri told the commander.
When the colonel began singing the tune, Major Cooper held out his hand to the biologist: "May I have this dance, Sheri?" he asked.
"Why, certainly, my good sir," she said, taking his hand.
About the best they could do was kick up the sand in the desert as they attempted to two-step to the colonel's singing. When the commander couldn't think of any more of the words, she quit completely.
"I'm afraid that's all I remember of the song," she said, apologetically.
Bowing to his dance partner, the major escorted Sheri back to her seat, the uncomfortable box that had been placed there for them to sit on.
As he started to walk away, Sheri asked, "Aren't you going to ask Evelyn to dance, Major?"
"I'm sorry," he grinned, "is there another song on the jukebox?"This time, Sheri started singing, and Tony Mercer began tapping on the crate he was sitting on with a stick, creating a slow rhythm.
"Why, I do declare, Miss Scarlet, I think this is our dance?" he grinned, as he held his hand out for Colonel Peterson.
"Some one make sure his hands stay in plain sight," she ordered.
"Yes, it's my hands you have to watch, children," he grinned over the colonel's shoulder at the others, as he playfully bit her ear.
"Ouch!" she said. "That's enough, Major!"Laughing, he spun the colonel around in the sand, and then dipped her playfully.
"You are a marvelous dancer, Colonel," he told her, "but you really should get out more!"Leading the colonel back to her seat after the song, he said, "I think that's enough fun for me. But I could use another one of Doctor Terrill’s special brews!"
As the doctor refilled his glass, Major Cooper asked her, "How about finishing your story, Barbara? If you don't mind, that is? I think we would all like to hear about your marriage. What was your husband's name?"
"I don't guess it matters any more," she finally said. “I’ve never talked about it before now. I guess you people, for what it’s worth, are the closest friends I have.
"His name was Don. Like I said earlier, we married right after medical school and were assigned to the same hospital. We were young, and so much in love!
"One weekend, before we'd been together a full year, we were boating on the river, when the canoe turned over with us. Don loved the river, and loved to paddle a canoe down stream. We'd gone many times before that day, even though I hated the water. You see, I never learned to swim!
"When the canoe turned over, it must have hit Don's head, and he went under. I held on to the side of the boat until some soldiers from the nearby base saw me and swam out to rescue me. They couldn't find my husband. His body was found several days later, bloated, and almost unrecognizable.
"I never remarried, instead I just immersed myself in my career. I never went back to the water, either, and I’ve never learned to swim."
"I'm so sorry," Sheri said.
"I think the party is over for tonight," Major Cooper said. "But leave the booze, I think I'll have a few more."
"Hell," Barbara laughed between tears, "that's been thirty years now, let's all have a few more!"
Chapter Seven
Gorgons
The next day, the special brew may have been gone, but the hangovers remained. Doctor Terrill had accidentally made it stronger than she had intended. Strangely enough, Roger Manning was the only one not suffering from the alcohol's effects.
"There is a God," Sheri argued, "and He's protecting Manning!"
"Why doesn’t He go ahead and send His Death Angel for me," Captain Mercer said.
"I think He already did!" Sheri protested. "I think I've all ready died and gone to Hell."
"I remember something about dancing in the middle of the desert last night," Major Cooper groaned.
"My ear is sore," Colonel Peterson grimaced. "Did a bug bite me last night?"
"From now on we drink nothing but water," Barbara Terrill snapped.
"I'm going to tend to my garden," Roger Manning grinned.
"Oh, shut up!" Sheri snarled.
"Hey, Manning," Major Cooper called after the engineer, "did our holding tank beneath the bio-dome roof capture much rain water from the storm?"
"I checked it when I cleaned the roof," he said. "It was full. I'll need some of it for my garden, though."
"Hell, there should be enough for your garden, and a couple of showers," the major told him. "I need a cold shower this morning. Any of you girls care to join me?"
"I'll pass," Colonel Peterson told him.
"A tempting offer, Major," Sheri laughed, "but I think those MREs are affecting me, too!"
"I just wanted my back scratched," he laughed.
"Scratch your own back, Major," Colonel Peterson told him, "and any other itch you may get."
“They sure get nasty when they have hangovers,” Major Cooper winked.
Still grinning, Major Cooper left with Roger Manning for the bio-dome, leaving the others to nurse their hangovers. There would be no exploration of the forest today, not while they suffered distractions that might leave them vulnerable to accidents or injuries.
To allow for better privacy, that night the men moved into the bio-dome, leaving Doctor Terrill, Colonel Peterson, and Sheri to share quarters in the Galileo Two. Although the ship was large, and one cargo hold was now empty since the biosphere had been removed, everyone felt that six people being confined together, when it wasn't necessary, might result in too many arguments or other problems. Since the doctor would need access to the medical facility, the women remained on board the ship.
Early the next morning, the men woke with the sun's rays shining in their eyes through the thick plastic of the walls.
"Manning, I want curtains put over those windows by tomorrow!" Major Cooper growled.
The statement must have sounded funny, for the engineer burst out laughing, and the two officers just stared at him for several minutes, listening to
his odd cackle.
"Manning, I think that's the first time I ever heard you laugh," Captain Mercer grinned.
"Please, don't do it again," begged the major.
"I'm sorry," Roger Manning guffawed, "that's why I try not to laugh at anything—ever!"
The girls weren't up yet, so the men took turns at showers, using the rainwater sparingly, and then they investigated the clearing around the ship and biosphere for signs of more prowlers during the night. There didn't appear to be any new tracks, and Major Cooper felt more at ease, hoping that whatever it was had wandered back into the swamps for the time being.
Roger Manning discovered the pile of brush covering Professor Plymouth's grave, but only kicked at a couple of the loose limbs, not saying anything about the odd stack of debris. Captain Mercer gave it a curious glance, and then walked on by, paying it no more attention. It was obvious that they figured out the reason for the strange mound.
The recent rain was either soaking into the soil of the desert, or evaporating into the air from the heat of the sun's rays, as the small ponds were quickly drying up, and the critters were making their way back to the swamps north of the Galileo Two. Small, five-toed tracks led away from the area. Their instinct for survival was leading them back to the water, which had given them birth in the first place.
"I wonder if Sheri's what-cha-call-it is still soaking in the mud?" Captain Mercer asked.
"The crocomander?" Major Cooper asked.
"Yeah, the toothy monster from the swamp," Tony Mercer said. "Is that thing really the ancestor of the crocodiles?"
"Probably," Major Cooper told him. "At least the family it evolved from is most likely the same family that will eventually produce the crocodiles, whether that particular line is the culprit or not, I don't know.
"Paleontologists have discovered many fossilized bones of creatures from the Permian Period, as well as footprints preserved in rock, but for every creature they've identified, there are a thousand that have not been discovered yet. We can only guess at what the rest of the animal life was like during this period."
