And yet, he was happy to have caught up to her and found her in time. He was glad she was all right.
Having calmed himself again in the space of two seconds, he turned toward her and assumed the proper posture and the demeanor of command. “Here—put this suit on. We should leave immediately,” he stated, his voice now little over a whisper as he handed it to her and turned his back to let her change. “It is not safe here at all. Killing one creature only draws the attention of ten more.”
“Leave?” Laura replied. “If we leave now, all this trouble we’ve both already gone to will be for nothing. Besides, killing that bat-wolf will only draw attention to this particular place, won’t it? If we slip away quietly, we’ll be gone when they arrive.” At least she had now matched his softer tone of voice.
“I completely agree with the second part of what you have said,” Jan replied. “Provided that we slip away quietly in the direction of the wall. As for the first part, escaping with our lives is good enough. Further looking around for whatever it is you’re searching for is out of the question.”
“Hah!” She laughed, although it wasn’t entirely mean-spirited. She seemed to have actually thought of something funny.
“What?” he asked.
“You’ve already broken one of your own rules simply by being here now and having come after me the way you did,” she explained and pointed at him. “You might as well break them all while you’re at it. You can’t give unfair preference to some while breaking one of them whenever you feel like it.”
He rolled his tongue around his teeth but focused on nothing in particular as he recalled his dilemma. “I have technically broken four of my rules already,” he mumbled and half-hoped that she wouldn’t hear him say as much.
“Well, the base was in lockdown when I left,” Laura went on. “It’s already in effect and will probably continue unless they’ve worked out how to repair the generator by now. Then, of course, they might still assume that someone tried to sabotage the base or something and treat it as a security risk until further notice.”
“You destroyed the generator?” he burst out, aghast that she’d dared to go that far.
“Only a few wires,” she replied with a shrug. “Nothing too severe. In any event, assuming the lockdown is still in effect, by going back and trying to force your way in, you’d break another rule from the opposite direction. The one about how no one leaves or enters during lockdown. I can’t remember what number that was, but I certainly recall the rule itself.”
“Number Eleven.” He sighed. Attempting to argue or reason with this woman was about as much fun as banging one’s head against a brick wall and about as effective as trying to destroy the wall by so doing. He supposed he could simply order her to return with him by the threat of force but wasn’t entirely sure it would have the desired outcome.
“So, with both of us essentially already being rule-breaking, anarchistic misfits,” she continued, “we might as well take this opportunity to complete the task we both agreed has to be done. Which is learning more about what it is the Zoo is planning and how these…iguana-monkey creatures tie into the bigger picture. Clearly, they play some role in whatever the Zoo is about to unleash on us.”
“Soldat Gunter Grün, one of the men we rescued,” Jan responded, “described them and it made me think of raptors—well, of velociraptors, actually. I think it’s a fairly accurate description.” Saying this was, essentially, a way to buy himself time while he contemplated what she was saying and thought of how to answer it. He took a quick look and when he confirmed that she was fully suited up, he turned to face her again.
“Why, yes, they do resemble velociraptors, now that you mention it. Albeit with technicolor fur, for some reason, and their hands looked like they belonged on a primate of some kind.”
As she acknowledged this fact, he looked around for possible threats as well as paths they might take regardless of which direction they ended up choosing. He also ejected the magazine from his rifle and loaded a fresh one before he slid the half-depleted one in behind the others as a last-ditch spare.
“In fact,” Laura continued, “that—the thing about velociraptors—reminds me of something, although I can’t think of what.”
“Jurassic Park?” he suggested.
“No, no,” she said and waved her hand. “Well, yes, but I mean from my studies or my prior scientific career—something I heard someone say or something I read. It will probably come back to me a week from now while I’m in the shower.”
“Of course,” he agreed. She seemed like the type who had this particular experience rather often but even he had been there, so to speak.
“Anyway, as long as we’re out here, we might as well learn what we can about these beasts and what purpose they serve. Your job is to protect and save people, is it not? Well, then, what better way to do that than by learning about your enemy? And,” she pressed on before he could get a word in edgewise, “they already got the better of at least three teams that we know of. I have the impression that they’re among the most dangerous creatures the Zoo has produced thus far. Investigating them and their habits is a slight risk that we take right now for the sake of averting some major disaster in the very near future.”
“More than a slight risk,” he pointed out gruffly, “but you make a good point. Do not assume that I have reached any particular conclusion yet. Give me a moment to think.” He stopped and reflected on all she’d said.
“Oh,” she added and perked up, “and if you plan to simply point a gun at me and try to force me out, I will resist and you’ll have to beat me over the head or something. You strike me as too much the gentleman to want to do that.”
Jan’s jaw muscles tightened. It was almost impossible for him to make up his mind, a phenomenon that was quite unusual for him. This ridiculous—but rather smart and bold—woman demonstrated a perfectly respectable understanding of the bigger picture, combined with an astoundingly careless and reckless lack of understanding of the smaller. Could they, perhaps, manage an overall good outcome if he simply agreed to take charge of those smaller details? Such as keeping both of them alive, for example.
Laura stood in silence, her arms folded over her chest as she waited for him to respond. Her expression remained mostly neutral but also seemed slightly cocky if he looked closely.
He sighed again. “Very well,” he said. “We will remain in the Zoo for now and see what we can find. However, I only agree to this if you do as I say in matters of survival. And we cannot stay for long—only enough time to find something useful, then we must go straight out.”
“That’s fair enough, I’d say.” She nodded. “That would seem a small price to pay for being able to say that I’ve won.”
“You have only won this battle,” he muttered. “Not the whole war.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Laura had to admit that Jan T Shalwar was a reasonably charming man when he loosened up a little and proved to be a good conversationalist too. He also proved useful by bringing along a suit for her. The extra protection might not guarantee survival, but it certainly raised the odds and would make things more comfortable.
“I guess you want to know about my family background, then,” Jan said after they’d walked and talked for a while.
“Of course,” she confirmed. She had commented on his interesting appearance and last name, having remembered that he’d earlier mentioned his father being from Pakistan.
“My mother was a policewoman—” he began.
“That doesn’t greatly surprise me,” she interrupted. Before he could snap at her, she added, “But yes, go on.”
“Thank you,” he whispered and cleared his throat. “She was Catholic, a native-born German, and a very disciplined woman who also tried to instill discipline in others around her. Including me, of course.”
“That surprises me even less,” she quipped.
“Let us assume that nothing surprises you unless you specifically say so,�
� he said and his eyes narrowed slightly, “so I may speak without interruptions.”
She laughed softly. “Fair enough since once you’re done speaking I will, of course, have a fair amount to say myself.”
“That does not surprise me,” he commented. “Now, then. My mother was a very principled and regimented woman and committed to order, which she saw as the best way to ensure things did not fall apart. However, she had a…I believe the term is ‘soft spot’ for people who were unlike her, provided they were not too irresponsible.”
Laura nodded. The man had paused but since they’d agreed for her to shut up while he talked, she had no intention to say anything by way of acknowledgment yet. It was more fun that way because it might annoy him.
“My father,” he went on, “was such a man. He came to Germany as a child and became a very talented artisan—a woodworker. It was not very steady work, but his pieces were beautiful enough to command good prices when he found a buyer. He was a lover of art and beauty in general. While he was very proud of the heritage of his homeland in such matters, he was also fascinated with the art and culture of the West.
“According to both him and my mother, the two of them fell in love at first sight. I like to think that this was true and that it is not simply something they told their son to make him believe in romantic fantasies.”
“Pardon my one interruption,” she interjected, “but you said ‘son.’ Does that mean you are an only child? No siblings?”
Jan frowned in a way that was downright unpleasant but not, it seemed, at her having broken her word regarding the whole interruption business. “I have a brother,” he stated. “I do not wish to talk about him. We…do not get along.”
“Very well, then.”
“Now,” he continued, “my parents were married only a few months after they first met. Both families were unhappy with the decision, unfortunately. My mother’s family worried that he would never make enough money at his trade and that he was too impractical. And my father’s family disliked the thought of him marrying a woman who was not a Muslim, although he was not very religious himself except in a general way. Soon, both families had to acknowledge that it was a happy marriage.”
“Well, that’s lovely to hear, actually,” she said. “It seems like everyone is always talking about how their parents fought all the time, or how their parents split up when they were young, or how their parents ignored them because they were too busy. All of which was the case with mine, as it so happens.”
“Was that another interruption,” he asked and raised an eyebrow, “or did you assume that I was done and it was now your turn?”
“What—am I now required to raise my hand for permission to speak like a schoolchild?” she asked. Part of her was still irked by his uptightness, but at least now it almost seemed like he was teasing her with it. He was not entirely humorless.
“Such a policy would simplify our relationship immensely,” he observed. “But I digress. I have spoken about my parents, now tell me about yours.”
“Well, I did, somewhat,” she pointed out. “But to go into more detail… My mother was an optometrist, and my father was a copyright attorney. So yes, they made rather good money, at least during the period when both of them were together. Which they weren’t for very long. Both were more interested in their careers than in each other, I suppose. Or their daughter. Sometimes, I suspect my mother only had me because she felt like she was supposed to. Parenthood didn’t really suit her much.”
“What about you—do you have siblings?” Jan asked.
“A sister—” Laura faltered. “She is the reason I hacked into secret Zoo information. Alicia was a researcher at the biodomes and died there on the Day of the Locust. As children, she and I both dreamed of becoming famous scientists and making amazing discoveries. Our scientific passions followed us both into adulthood. I no longer dream of fame but I would like to continue my sister’s legacy. So I hacked the system to see if I could learn more about the science of the Zoo.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. I didn’t realize. I can see why you would want to fulfill your sister’s dream.”
“Yes, she would have relished the discoveries to be found in the Zoo.” she said. “Especially now that I’ve found evidence that might save lives. But I can’t test my theories at the base. Roden has decided I’m to spend my time in a lab. Before he imposed that, I had to try to find something in the Zoo. I don’t think Alicia would ever forgive me if I didn’t at least try.”
Jan nodded to show that he was listening, even though he constantly looked around and studied the jungle for any signs of an emerging threat. She had to admit that he was a damn good soldier—to the extent that she was qualified to be a judge of military matters. “Were you close?” he asked.
“Yes, especially when we were young. We spent much of our childhood in…well, all kinds of different ridiculous places. After the divorce, my mum moved us constantly and all over Britain—every year or two, it seemed. My sister and I went to a variety of boarding schools and I hated them all, frankly, aside from the science classes. I suppose I became too curious and kept trying experiments of the kind that usually resulted in me getting kicked out of school.”
“That, also, does not surprise me,” remarked the hauptmann.
“Oh, of course it doesn’t,” Laura retorted. “Do be quiet. What was I saying? Yes—it’s nice to hear that your parents got along so well but sometimes, I wonder if happy marriages are merely a stroke of luck like a friendship more than anything. This whole idea of serious romantic relationships and ‘true love’ seems quite silly to me. Especially since it mainly seems to exist to encourage humans to breed. Aren’t we overpopulated enough as it is?”
A strange look had come over his face now. “You did not strike me, at first, as being such a cynic,” he mused.
“It’s not cynical, it’s sensible,” she protested. “It’s like how we don’t still go around casting handfuls of bones on the ground to read the signs the spirits send us about our futures or something like that.”
He made a small snorting sound that might even have been a laugh.
“And furthermore,” she went on, “you don’t have much business accusing me of not being sensitive enough when you might be the most stoic, robotic individual I’ve ever encountered. I don’t mean that entirely as an insult since I’m sure it helps with being a practical-minded warrior type, but…well, I can tell that the Jan Shalwar who obsesses over rules and regulations is not the real you.”
“It does not matter who or what the ‘real’ me is,” he responded. “What is important now is my work. And right now, my work is our survival.”
She shrugged. “Well, we’ve survived this far. I simply mean that—”
Her statement cut off abruptly when something rustled the bushes on either side of them.
Jan held a hand up, not that it was necessary. She had already frozen in place, utterly silent. Their conversation had been in tones barely more than a whisper. Still, she now wondered if even that had been a mistake. They probably should not have spoken at all.
They both caught a brief flash of dull black fur to their left. She flung herself aside as he stepped forward, and he fired a three-round burst at the emerging form. Something gasped and wailed horribly.
Laura stumbled to her feet and looked toward where Jan stood and a large, furry devilcrow slumped on the ground before him. It was badly wounded with chunks of its head and shoulder missing but wasn’t quite dead. It crawled stupidly toward the man. He stood unflinchingly, clicked something on his rifle, and delivered a single shot through the creature’s eye. It sagged immediately and released a rattling sigh, then stiffened.
He looked at her. “Move,” he said. “They almost always hunt in packs. We cannot fight more than one or two.”
It was a course of action she agreed with wholeheartedly. She turned and jogged toward what looked like a sparser, more open section of jungle a short distance ahead. Her companion m
oved close behind her.
As they ran forward, she was conscious of two curious sounds. One was a fast, harsh scrabbling—the sound, she realized, of more devilcrows clinging to trunks and branches with their talons in pursuit of human flesh.
The other sound did not register its identity in her mind at first. It was a vague rushing sound, one which grew louder and stronger as they fled.
“What is that?” she asked. “Wait—it’s not a river, is it?”
“It may be.” Jan grunted. He was back in warrior mode, ready to do whatever it took to protect them both.
Behind them, the devilcrows were gaining. Their ability to leap laterally through the trees several meters above their prey and swoop to the ground gave them an edge in dense jungle.
The two humans burst through a curtain of leaves and into a semi-clear area that sloped downward. Most of the larger trees now towered behind them. Her heart leapt in jubilation. The loathsome vermin would have to chase them on the ground now, which gave them a fighting chance.
On the downside, the rushing sound was indeed a river.
“Oh fuck, oh shit,” she cursed. “Do you have an extra gun?”
He ran alongside and handed her a pistol, probably the same one she’d used before. She clicked the safety off and glanced back.
A veritable army of devilcrows had dropped out of the trees and now ran toward them, their snarling, wolf-like maws somehow even worse when seen from a low angle. There had to be twenty of them—enough to give even a fully-armed platoon a difficult time, let alone two people with one rifle between them. Her gut tightened, then sank. This might be the end.
They sprinted toward the riverbank. It was almost a small cliff, a sheer drop of two or three meters, and the churning brown waters looked fast and treacherous.
“Stand behind me,” Jan said in a cold, even tone of voice. “Fire to the sides, but do not engage them until after I have fallen.”
Galaxia Page 108
